Only Human
by BackyardFantasy
Summary: "They're haunting me now, Lei," he confesses, the lines on his face making him look years older than he actually is. "All those kids that I killed, all those kids I watched getting killed? I can hear them, and I cant do this anymore." He buries his face in his hands. I wrap my arms around him. "It's alright, Cato. You're human, too." Cato/OC.
1. g o o d b y e

**goodbye**

District 8 is not a place made for raising a child. It's a dirty, horrible, disgusting excuse for a District. My parents raised my three siblings and me here. We work for hours, even my tiniest sister, and we barely make enough to feed all of us. Even with our poverty, the Capitol still forces us to offer up one of the children raised here for their own entertainment.

Today is the day of the Reaping, where the Capitol steals one boy and one girl from their families and uses them for their favorite sport of the year. It absolutely disgusts me and I can't stand it. Hopefully neither my little brother nor myself will be chosen this year.

With these thoughts, I look over at my thirteen-year-old brother, Myre. He's shaking where he stands. I can see it. He's terrified. I can't really blame him, especially what the penalty for bad luck on this specific day is. But if I call out to him, the Peacekeepers will attack us. Today is the Day of the Reaping, a day that District 8 always fears. We aren't a fighting district, we make fabric and clothes.

Our spokesperson from the Capitol, Maret Leon, a woman with pale blue skin and an outrageous hairstyle, walks up to the microphone. "Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds ever be in your favor!" she announces, a bright smile on her lips. There is no response from the crowd of children and teens before her. "Now, before we start, we have a video that has come all the way from the Capitol." I roll my eyes slightly as the video plays on the screen. It's the same every year.

The video is just there to remind us that we are under the boot of the Capitol. We cannot rise up against the Capitol again, because we will never be able to win. That was why the Hunger Games came along. Seventy-four years ago, the thirteen Districts rose up in rebellion against the Capitol. The rebellion was quickly put down, and District 13 was destroyed as a result. In penance for the act of rebellion, the Capitol created the Hunger Games.

During the Hunger Games, each of the twelve Districts are forced to offer up two Tributes per year, one boy and one girl, both from ages twelve to eighteen. The twenty-four tributes are forced into an arena to fight each other until only one is left alive. Whether it be from starvation, murder, suicide, weather problems, or some other crazed way of dying, it doesn't matter. It's all for the entertainment of those horrid Capitol people. That is the Hunger Games.

I bite my bottom lip again and look back at my little brother. His entire body is pale, and he's shaking in terror. He had escaped last year without being chosen, but his name is in the Reaping Balls twice this year. I just hope that this year would have the same outcome as the last year. I run my hand softly along the fabric of the ivory dress I had chosen to wear for this year's ceremony, closing my eyes in nervousness.

As always, Maret chooses the female tribute first. We are just District 8, a District that makes our living on making uniforms and cloth for the Capitol. But I can't help but be worried. I have my parents, two younger siblings, and one older sibling. I never allow Myre to put his name in for tesserae. My little sister, Fleur, is only seven, and unable to put her name in. Not like I'd let her. As for my older brother, Glenn, he's nineteen, and has escaped the Hunger Games.

If I never applied for tesserae for my family, my name would only have been in there five times. However, my name is in there over thirty times. The odds have never been in my favor. But I'm able to supply my family with things they need, even if it's at risk of my own life.

Maret's pale blue hand reaches into the Reaping Ball and digs around for a few moments. In those moments, my breath is caught in my throat. I bite my lip, and pray that it won't be my name. Slowly, in that one suspenseful moment, Maret opens the slip and reads off the name.

"Jade Jenkins."

It's not my name.

But I recognize the little girl who exits the crowd to approach the stage. She's just a twelve-year-old child. Her name is probably in there once, on that one slip of paper that was chosen from the Reaping Ball. She's… still so little. She's a year younger than my brother. If she was even fourteen or fifteen, I wouldn't have had a problem. But this girl, this young, shaking girl who looks like all color has been drained from her face, is only twelve.

I bite my lip and steel myself before making that one decision that will ultimately change my life forever. Perhaps even end it. Most people would call me insane and call my next action thoughtless. Maybe they'd be the ones who're right.

Pushing my way out of the crowd of other teenage girls, I stand in the center of the Reaping, all movement halted but myself. I feel eyes on me, some with shock and some with confusion. Ignoring all of the stares I'm getting, I take a deep breath and announce, "I volunteer."

The little girl's teary eyes widen, and a murmur passes through the crowd. There have only been a handful of Tributes from District 8 who would ever volunteer. I was perhaps the fourth. I bite my lip once more as Maret's shrill, yet calm voice asks, "What's your name, darling?"

"Leilani. Leilani Oakwood," I reply. I notice that my voice sounds much more confident than I feel. Inside, I'm shaking. I look over to my little brother, who is almost crying. I mouth an apology to him as I'm escorted onto the stage.

Maret looks almost pleased as she practically skips to the male Reaping Ball and pulls out the top slip of paper, almost lazily. I close my eyes, and hope I won't be thrown into the Games with a child. I can't bear the thought of killing a child.

"Myre Oakwood."

My eyes fly open and I gape like a fish. My little brother has been chosen to enter the Games with me, chosen to die alongside me. I want to scream, I want to cry, I want to make sure he can go home. As Myre's face falls, paling even more, and he slowly walks forward, another male voice calls out.

"I volunteer!"

I can feel my shoulders sagging in relief as another boy, with dark hair and blue eyes, pushes through the crowd and stands almost protectively in front of Myre. He glares up at the stage and announces in a strong voice, "My name is Clay Jenkins."

And it's then, hearing his full name, that my face falls once more. He is Jade's older brother. I had just saved his little sister from being the one to die. He's only returning the favor and saving my little brother. My hands curl into fists at my sides in both anger and regret. Still, a jolt of relief runs through my veins that Myre won't be with me.

At Maret's request, or order, the two of us, the newest Tributes of District 8, shake hands, a silent, unspoken agreement between the two of us forming. Instead of applauding us, the crowd behind begins to sing quietly. They sing an old lullaby that was used at funerals.

I know that they're singing it for us. Tears form in my eyes at their sorrowful voices. This is our death sentence, and everyone knows it. I refuse to let my tears fall, but I smile widely. I suppose I just need to accept the fact that I'm going to die in the 74th Hunger Games. That's a fact.

_We are just District 8, a District that makes our living on making uniforms and cloth for the Capitol. But even so, we will try to make it out alive._

{ may the odds be ever in your favor }

I'm thrown into a room, where my family can visit me before I'm shipped off to the Capitol to be prepared for the Hunger Games. Fleur is the first to rush in, clinging to my dress. She sobs, hugging me close to her.

She peers up with her wide eyes and begs, "Don't leave me, please, Lei." I kneel down in front of her and hug her. "I don't know what to do now…" she cried, tears streaming from her blue eyes.

"Listen to me," I start, cupping her face in both my hands. Her eyes lock with mine. "I will come home. Until then, be strong. Not for me, but for yourself. Don't let anyone see you cry, and don't doubt me for a second."

Fleur nods weakly, and hangs onto me again. She nuzzles her face into my dress once more, still crying. Her tears and her sobs only serve to break my heart. As the Peacekeepers storm into the room, and gently drag her away, Fleur screams in protest, trying to hang on. I shake my head, and she goes limp, allowing the large, burly men to drag her off.

The next one to visit is Glenn, worry reflected onto his face. Like Fleur did to me, I rush forward and hug him tightly, burying my face in his neck. He holds me close, refusing to be the one to cry. He shushes me as I continue to sob.

He pulls away, staring down at me. "You can win this. I know. Be stronger and faster and smarter than the other Tributes. Just don't show anyone what you're made of until the time comes to kill."

I shake my head a little. "I'm a girl from District 8. I'll most likely die on the first day," I confess sadly.

Glenn glares at me a little. "Listen to me, Lei. I know you. You're stronger than you think. If Cecelia and Woof can win, so can you. You know you can." I solemnly nod and turn away. Our three minutes are up. I can hear his footsteps echoing as he walks away.

My parents visit next. It's mostly just crying and memories. There are no talks of the Games, just well wishing and talking of the past and of things yet to come. My mother makes me promise that when I come back, we'll all go for a picnic. I promise this. My father, on the other hand, doesn't say anything but "good luck". He just holds me tight.

I can't help but hug my little brother close to me as he stumbles in. It looks like he's just recovered from crying, with bloodshot eyes and tears streaming down his face. But as he walks in and I hug him, Myre begins to cry again. I kneel in front of him. Myre takes my hand in his and places something in it.

"I wanted to be the one to give you this. Take it with you, into the Games," he requests quietly, wrapping his smaller arms around me and hugging me close to him. "Please, Lei, please, try to make it home for me."

Planting a kiss on his forehead, I nod. "I swear that I will do my best, Myre. I love you, baby brother." He nods, more tears streaming down his face. I hug him again before he turns and leaves the room, even before our three minutes are up. I can't exactly blame him though.

In my hand is a small, bronze pocket watch. It was my mother's once. I flip open the lid, seeing a small photo tucked away in a frame. It's of my entire family and myself, from last year. I attempt to stop crying as I walk from the room and into the car that will take me to the train.

From there, the train will pick up the other Tributes, and then, we go off to the Capitol for the Games.

The car ride is silent. Clay had downright refused to allow Maret sit in between us, so the pale blue woman is sitting in the front seat while Clay and I both sit silently in the back of the car. I have never spoken to Clay in my life, but he seems to be friends with Glenn. I frown.

His hand wraps around mine, and I look up at him. His eyes are set straight ahead, and I smile softly. Our agreement is that we're both going to be trying our best in the arena. We will not let anyone see us fall, and we won't go down without a good fight. I squeeze his hand softly, letting him know that I'm still there. Perhaps it's just my imagination, but I swear that I can see Clay smile a bit, too.

We arrive at the train, and I continue to keep a strong face, clutching the pocket watch tightly in one hand. My other hand is still attached to Clay's, and Maret seems to notice this. She smiles, but doesn't comment. I'm grateful for this, and I think that perhaps Maret isn't so bad.

In the first room of the train is a beautiful room, filled with first class furniture and food. Two people are sitting at the table, full plates of food in front of them, yet they weren't eating any of it. I recognize them as Victors of two previous Games, named Cecilia and Woof.

Cecilia, a blonde woman with a motherly face, looks up and smiles sympathetically at the two of us. Woof is an older man, who simply doesn't acknowledge the two newest Tributes. There's been talk that he's gone senile. Honestly, after winning the Games, I can't exactly say I don't understand why.

"Come sit down. There's plenty of room," Cecilia invites warmly. I smile a little more and take a seat across from Woof. Clay sits next to me, his hands fidgeting a little as he does.

Then, there's the dreaded silence for a few moments as both Clay and I place food onto our plates. My eyes flit back and forth from Woof, to Cecilia, to Clay, and then back to my own plate.

Clay doesn't waste any more time though. He looks up, a fire in his eyes. "How are we going to do this?" he asks loudly. I jump a little, keeping my face stony as Cecilia looks up. "I just wanna know how we can both make it home," he says with a smile.

"Ever the optimist, huh?" Cecilia laughs. "But to answer your question… I can't see any possible way for the two of you to both make it out. Just do your best, be a likeable person in your interviews, and surprise everyone."

It certainly wasn't what Clay was suspecting. Honestly, it wasn't what I was expecting either. However, Cecilia continues to explain how sponsors work, and how the interviews and the training sessions would influence their decisions about which Tributes they would help.

I stood up suddenly. "Sorry, I just… I need a few minutes, please excuse me," I say quietly. I slowly move towards the exit of the car, feeling Woof's eyes on me for the first time during the entire train ride.

I walk out of the room into the halls of the train. It's there that I break down. I can't help but cry. Myre is depending on me to win, but honestly, making people like me would be more of a difficulty for me than killing someone. At least, that's what I think. I've never had any friends before. My only friends are my family, and that's that. I never needed anyone else.

Now, to survive in these Games, I'll need sponsors and gifts from people. I'll need them to like me, I'll need to make them want me to survive. I hastily wipe away my tears. No one likes I crybaby, as they're usually the first to be killed. From the moment I step out of this train, I'll need to be calculating my every move, from my relationships with other Tributes to the way I play myself off in public. The Capitol will be watching.

I figure that it'd be best for me if I get all of my tears out now. I continue to cry, sliding down the steel wall and onto the floor. Hugging my legs to my chest, I burry my head in the fabric of my dress.

"Hey…" I look up to see a blond boy standing over me, an emotionless expression on his face. "You're District 8, right?"

I nod quietly, forcing myself to stop crying, although I know he's already seen my tears. "Yes. I'm Leilani."

He sits next to me, facing the wall. "Cato." It takes me a few moments to realize that he's just told me his name, but I nod when I realize this. "You volunteered for your partner's little sister, right?"

"Yes," I say.

He finally looks over to me, his blue eyes locking with my brown ones. "Why did you do it? Why'd you volunteer yourself for another person?" he asks. His face is still emotionless as he asks this question.

It takes me another few moments to gather my thoughts and answer him. "Well… I suppose I just couldn't watch a child go up. She had no chance of coming back, and even she knew it," I reply quietly. Cato nods quietly. "What about you?" I ask suddenly. "Did you…"

"Volunteer? Yeah," he answers shortly. He's quiet, even as he stands up. "Nice meeting you, I guess. See you in training." He walks away with those words, and I stare at his back.

He was my competition in the beginning of the Hunger Games. Cato. Just his build and his attitude told me that he was one of the Careers… Cato is someone that can, and will, kill both Clay and me as soon as we set foot in the arena if we don't move carefully.

{ may the odds be ever in your favor }

In my room on the train, I lay on my bed. Cecilia had finished explaining everything about the pre-Games training and interviews. I'm clearly in a bit of a pinch. I turn my token, the watch Myre had given me, in my hands. As I flip it over, I stop. There's something engraved on the back of it.

_Always faithful. Always strong. Always courageous._

I almost start to sob again. These words are the words I know that I'll need when I'm in the arena. These words will keep me going. I will stay faithful in times of doubt. I will stay strong in times of weakness. I will stay courageous in times of darkness. And I will return to my family.

That is what I promise myself as I clutch the watch again and think of my family back home.

In the mornings, Glenn and Myre challenge one another to see who can wake Fleur and me, and keep us awake. They usually do this by making us angry or scaring us, which makes both my sister and myself chase after them. My mother, who is usually cooking something for our family of six, smiles and laughs. My father, who Fleur hides behind, quietly, yet playfully reprimands the boys. They just laugh and say that they won't do it anymore.

After breakfast, the four of us go to school, where we learn all kinds of different things. From curriculum assigned by the Capitol to skills that we'll need to survive as adults, our school covers as much as it can within five hours, until around two in the afternoon. When school ends, Fleur and Myre go help mom with her tiny shop that sells clothing. Glenn goes to work in the factory, until around eleven. I, however, work to make Peacekeeper Uniforms. It's a rather boring task, one that keeps me occupied until nine.

When I get home, Myre and Fleur are already in bed. Fleur has usually fallen asleep waiting for Glenn and me to return home. Myre is awake most of the time, and he tells me stories about what he's done that day. I always listen contently until he gets tired and falls asleep, as I know that one day, we might be stripped away from each other. Like today, I know, I will never get to hear Myre's stories about funny things that happen in the shop.

I sigh, remembering things that I know will never happen again. I won't ever make it back to witness my family doing those things, and I know it. I've already resigned myself to die. But if I die, I'm going to take as many of those Tributes as I can with me… if I can bring myself to do so.

A knock on my door makes me sit up quickly and shove my token into the front of my dress. I bite my lip as I sit on the edge of the bed and call, "Come in!" in a quiet, yet loud voice.

Clay, with a small smile on his face, walks in. His blue eyes are dancing with mischief, but they're also reflecting a seriousness that I know my face shows as he looks at me. He sits on the foot of my bed, and I slide next to him, just waiting to see what he was going to say or do.

He takes a deep breath. "You nervous?" he asks softly, starting out with a quiet question. I nod in reply, feeling unable to speak because of the lump in my throat. "Same. But I'm definitely going to try my best out there. I know you will too." He smiles a little over at me. I look down a bit as he smiles, and he turns his gaze back to the floor. "I wanted to ask… if you're willing to form an alliance. At least until we get to the top eight or four or whatever? I know, it's stupid, but I just want to know I can count on someone," he asks.

To say I know how he feels would be an understatement. I know that I'm alone, and I hate feeling that way. Without my family, I have no one. Truthfully, not one sensible Tribute would even dream of teaming up with someone from District 8. Most all of the Tributes from our District are slaughtered in the bloodbath or soon afterwards. To have someone we can depend on would be amazing, even if we can only count on one another. After all, we're all we have.

"Sure." He looks up at me, shock written on his face. My face is serious though. "But once we get into the top four, you might not be able to trust me."

He nods, his face finally settling to be just as serious. "I know."

I look over to him and grasp his hand in mine. "I'm grateful for how you saved Myre from being entered into these Games. I really am. But I want to make it home just as much as I want you to, and just as much as I know you want to, but you heard Cecilia. Only one of us will make it home."

He only replies with a slight smile. "Not a problem. We're even, you kept my sister at home," the brunette boy replies with a smile etched on his face. Clay reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small horseshoe charm. "This was Jade's. I want you to do me a favor if I die. I want you to give this to her."

My eyes widen slightly, but I nod anyways. "I agree, but then you have to promise me something in return. This pocket watch… please give it to Myre if I die."

Clay nods, still serious. "I promise." I smile and reach over, squeezing his hand gently before letting go. He stands up, a smile on his face once more. He replaces the charm in his pocket and looks over to me. "Why don't we go get something to eat?" he suggests, the twinkle back in his eyes.

I smile slightly and stand alongside him. "That sounds perfect. I haven't eaten since before the Reaping," I say quietly. He chuckles a little as my stomach growls. My face flushes and I smack his arm playfully. "S-Shut up!" I protest, my face a bright red as he bursts into laughter again.

It's only been a few hours, and I already have an ally for the Hunger Games. This makes me realize that I'm not alone. There's twenty-three other teens, just like me, who were chosen. Some against their will, some volunteers, but all in all, each of us just want to survive.

Laughter rings through the halls as Clay and I walk along the halls together towards the food cart. We're joking and laughing like we've been best friends forever.

I'm not alone. Clay likes me for who I am, I suppose. If I can make one person like me by being myself, why can't I draw out a few other people? The Capitol must be at least a bit easy to entertain.

After all, they created the Hunger Games. Their sick sense of humor and horrible ways of entertaining themselves is enough to tell me that I won't be the only Tribute who hates the Capitol. All I have to do is make it seem like I don't.

A strategy formulates in my mind, and I smile a little wider as we reach the food car. Perhaps I stand a chance. Even if it's only a slight chance, it's better than nothing.

As we walk into the food car, Cecilia looks up and smiles at us. "We're approaching the Capitol building now. You should prepare to meet your style team shortly." Neither of us seem to be too enthusiastic about being made over like this.

I look out the window and see the grand buildings only a few thousand miles in the distance, which would be covered in no time on this train. I collapse into a chair and begin to hum the funeral lullaby to myself, attempting to steel myself to prepare for the Capitol and its people.

* * *

**Hey, for those of you that were following me or following my old story, "Free to Ride", I'm starting over. I recently signed back in after almost a year, and I'm so ashamed of myself. Honestly, the writing in "Free to Ride" was so poor, I'm highly embarrassed to admit I wrote that almost two years ago. So I'm restarting. This is going to be the new me, I've practiced and I've continued to develop my writing, so I hope you guys like this.**

**So this story, "Only Human", is one that has been in the process of developing for almost three years, since I first read the first book of "The Hunger Games". I have not been "on the bandwagon" of Cato lovers, as most people would assume. When I first started this story as a Cato/OC, my only thought was to develop Cato further than he was in the books.**

**My protagonist, Leilani, and her District partner, Clay, have gone through so many changes. Originally, Clay was actually thirteen, not eighteen. Leilani is sixteen, and she's stayed that way. However, at first, it was going to be one of those, "oh shit, I'm chosen" or "my baby brother is volunteering, I have to go in" stories. Not that I have anything against them. But I wanted to develop a different idea of two people who sacrifice everything because of morals.**

**Originally, I was not going to put them into the 74th Hunger Games or even have this be about romance or anything. Originally, "Only Human" was going to be about how Leilani (whose name was Narine at first, and then it was changed to Elysia, then finally to Leilani) and Clay struggle to lose their morals and put behind how they don't want to kill anyone.**

**As for why I chose District 8 as their home District, I've seen pretty much every other District have been chosen. I'm sure I saw at least seven District 4 stories, I've seen tons of District 12 or District 3. District 11 was one that I've never seen picked, but of course, that would mean kicking Rue out of the spotlight. So I chose District 8, the Textile District, mainly because I've been in factories and I've seen what happens in places like that District. It's terrible, and so I use that in my writing.**

**Also, I will not be killing Cato. End of story. I'm not sure how I'm going to do this, but I know I want Cato and Lei to live, but I don't want them to rely on their alliance. I'm really reluctant to kill Katniss and Peeta, as well. So I'll sort that later.**

**I've read most of the really popular Cato/OC stories on here, and I'm always impressed by them. I think my favorite was "Common Sense", by Oblivious to the Obvious, or "Spark", by we are the light. If you haven't read them, I can honestly say that you should go read them, they're amazing.**

**Hope you stick around for more.**


	2. s a l u t e

**salute**

My prep team, made up of three stylists that looked relatively normal, save for their hair colors, made me over within a few hours. My entire body was stripped of any hair except for my blonde hair upon my head. My skin is cleaner than it has been in ages, and honestly, it feels amazing.

The three stylists, named Salem, Sage, and Sylva, soon exited the room, leaving me to wait for the lead stylist that would make me over for the Tribute Parade. The Tribute Parade scares me more than the idea of fighting to the death in the arena itself does.

The doors slide open, and a tall and thin man walks in. His skin is pale, and his hair is a long and golden-brown, looking like a lion's mane. His eyes are his only really strange feature. They shine, golden, much like a cat's eye. A grin slides upon his face as he walks over to me. I sit up on the table that the prep team had put me on and stare him down, no expression on my face.

"Hey there. Your name is Leilani, right?" I nod, and he smiles. "Name's Simba." I have to grin at that; no wonder he looks like he does. He chuckles as well. "I see you get the reference with my look.

I shrug. "I like it. I can already tell that it fits you." But the smile soon falls from my face. "You're here to get me ready for the Tribute Parade?" Simba nods and moves to grab his bag. "How long do you have to try and make me look good?"

The brown-haired man smiles, a sly, cat-like smile. "Well, I've already got something in mind. Last year's design for District 8? I absolutely hated it. It didn't flatter the District at all, as if the stylist last year had already given up. I want to show put you in a costume that people will gape at." I nod slowly, not understanding what he was getting at. "Well, I know that you guys make cloth and thread and all that stuff, right?" I nod again, still not understanding.

Simba only smiles and pulls something out of his bag. I gape at the costume he brings out. He chuckles again.

"I told you so."

{ may the odds be ever in your favor }

I run out to meet Clay, Woof, and Cecilia, dressed in a black cloak. Clay is dressed in the same thing, but a huge grin is on his face. As I approach them, I almost trip, wincing as I stand upright. Obviously, I can't walk in heels. Simba follows me, as well as Clay's stylist, a tall, muscled, blond man named Cloud. He looks rather serious, but he's just as normal looking, if not more so, than Simba.

The blond stylist, Cloud, grins a little at seeing the two of us. Simba grasps my hand quickly. "You two are going to knock their socks off, I know it." I smile, wishing that I was as confident as he was. My hair has been made wavy, and it's tied back with a long, beautiful, red ribbon made of silk, and Clay had the same type of ribbon around his neck. It signified that we were from the same District.

He lifts himself onto the chariot and holds his hand out to me. I take it and grasp it tight, squeezing it as Simba lets go of my other hand. I breathe heavily as Clay helps me up and into the chariot. The brunette boy smiles a little. "Don't be nervous, Lei. I'm sure you look absolutely stunning."

I smile a little, but still don't let go of his hand. I only squeeze it a little tighter, holding onto him for any source of comfort I can get. Clay doesn't complain. The first chariot goes. Second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh…

Finally, our chariot begins to go. Our cloaks flutter as we ride forward, and, as the crowd cheers for us, Clay squeezes my hand once. He squeezes it again a second later. As he squeezes my hand a third time, both of us rip off our cloaks and let them fly into the crowd.

Our costumes are thin, white silk, covered in layer after layer of colorful thread. I have butterfly wings on my back, and Clay has eagle wings. Our chariot ride seems like it lasts forever, but in truth, we're only going for a few seconds. Flowers fly from the stands towards us, and I catch one with one hand, Clay catching one with his teeth. I smile widely and wave cheerily, looking much happier than I feel.

As we pull to a stop, I laugh loudly, whooping. We seem to have gotten a perfect reaction from the sponsors, and I can't help but feel amazing. The first hurdle wasn't much of a hurdle at all. I turn to Clay with a wide grin, one which is reflected back at me on his face.

Without warning, I leap into his arms and hug him tightly. More loud cheers come from the crowd as District 12 rides through. I turn back to see the two Tributes on fire. My eyes widen, but I smile. They really shone, looks like we were upstaged. Although I know we had one of the best reveals of the entire Parade. That thought alone made me happy.

I listen to President Snow's speech, continuing to hold onto Clay as my eyes scan the rest of the twenty-four Tributes. Districts 1 and 2 have formidable Tributes, for sure. 11 looks like the boy could put up a fight, but the girl, a little girl, breaks my heart. 12, of course, I now have my eye on.

I stare at 2 again, and I gasp. Two blue eyes stare back at me and I quickly look away, my face flushing slightly. Cato is from District 2. I send a quick glance at him one more time. He's looked away, to District 12, and is now glaring at the boy.

When President Snow finishes his speech, we arrive backstage, where I jump off the chariot into Simba's open arms. He laughs and spins me around a little. "Look at you," he says admiringly. "Look at you both! You did amazing!"

"Well, 12 kind of stole the show after us though," replies Clay, almost jokingly.

Cloud shrugs. "So? I think many people had their eyes on you two. Especially with your PDA, kids." I roll my eyes. Of course, people would have seen our victory celebration of a simple hug. Gosh, people must think a hug is a marriage proposal around here if they make a big deal of it. "Seriously, they've already started to support you two."

I exchange a gleeful look with Clay, both of our eyes brightening considerably. We have support.

I giggle a little as Maret scurries up, nearly tripping from her extra high heels, but her face is bright and happy. "I saw it as I was preparing your rooms, you two are amazing!" she cheers. "I could not be happier. Congratulations to both of you! Now, would you like to see your rooms?"

Both Clay and I nod. I figure that if we're going to die, I want to at least spend the last few days I have with no regrets. I smile widely as Maret leads Woof, Cecilia, Simba, Cloud, Clay, and I away from our chariot. I laugh along with Clay and our mentors as Cloud and Simba bicker a little, joking around with one another like they're old friends.

A shiver runs up my spine as I feel eyes on me. I slow my walk to a halt, the others passing me by quickly, and turn back around to see Cato's blue eyes staring at me again. I bite my lip and turn away from his powerful gaze quickly, before peering back at him, only slightly. He's still staring. I make up my mind, sending the muscled Career a confident smirk. He looks taken aback, and I laugh quietly, shaking my head at his surprise.

"Hey! Leilani, come on, you slowpoke!" Clay's voice yells from a distance. Turning back around, I stick my tongue out playfully at my District partner. The blue eyed boy only laughs. I can feel Cato's gaze following me, but I don't turn around again. He doesn't matter.

But the look he gave me… I couldn't help but be lost in his eyes. He was intense, a power, and he seems to have taken an interest in me. Why, I don't know. I do know that I'm a little scared of what's going to happen. Cato is built like a warrior. I'm a thin, pale, blonde girl who worked to make clothing. If I ever fight him, I know that I wouldn't survive more than five minutes.

That's what worries me the most.

{ may the odds be ever in your favor }

After changing into more comfortable clothes, which Simba also designed and made for me, I retreat to the room that Maret has made up for me. I lie on the bed and stare out the window next to me. It's in that moment when I can't help but miss home.

A knock on the door once more brings me out of my stupor. I look to see Clay, holding a can of what looks like soda. He tosses one to me, and I nod gratefully. He grins and sits on the floor, his back against my bed. I slide down next to him and practically inhale the sugary drink.

"So we start training tomorrow," Clay deadpans cheerfully, not wasting anymore time with soda or talk of the Games. I nearly groan; training. In truth, now that the Tribute Parade is over, that's my biggest worry. I have barely any muscle to my frail figure. It's mostly in my legs, but if it comes down to it, I can probably wield a knife, and that's it. "You nervous?"

I nod. "I'm terrified, Clay. I have no chance, and that's really just settled in. I can't lift a weapon, what the hell am I going to do?" I wonder calmly. Clay sends a worried look towards me.

"Then let's not talk about the training. If we're going to be partners, we should at least know a little about each other. So what's your story?" I look at him, slightly confused. "You know, what your life's like?" he asks instead.

I have to laugh at his attempt to change the subject. Running a hand through my hair, I reply, "Well, I'm sixteen. I'll be turning seventeen in a little less than a month. I have one older brother, Glenn. He's nineteen, and he's always been my rock. I think you know him. Then there's me, the second child. After me is my little brother, Myre. That kid is going to grow up to be a heartbreaker. He's only thirteen though, and I'm not eager to see him or Fleur grow up. Fleur is nine, and she's the sweetest, most innocent girl you could ever meet. My parents are cool, they're always working though. What about you?"

Clay thinks for a moment. "I'm eighteen. I'll be turning nineteen in around three weeks, seventeen days to be exact." My eyes widen; Clay will be either in the arena or dead during his nineteenth birthday. "I know, my luck sucks. But my little sister, Jade, who's twelve, has my pop to look after her. My mom died a few years ago, that sickness in the winter almost five years ago got her."

I smile and hug Clay with one arm, and his arm wraps around my waist before we both pull back. "I guess we both have things worth fighting for. Let's both do our best in the training tomorrow. No regrets, right?" Clay nods and we grasp hands once again, awaiting tomorrow.

{ may the odds be ever in your favor }

The training room is cold. I wrap my arms tighter around myself as I look around the room. There's weapon stations and survival stations, ranging from the lethal sword to the tiny ropes to the edible wildlife. I have to admit that I'm impressed. It's like the Capitol actually wants us to have a chance. Or at least, not be able to just lie down and die once we enter the arena.

I look around at the other Tributes. Most of them are terrifying in stature compared to me, but there are two younger children. District 11 and District 4 have Tributes that are only twelve years old. I can tell just by their look. It breaks my heart to know that Myre and Jade could have been here instead of me. Suddenly, that thought makes being stuck here so worth it.

As training starts, Clay runs off towards the weapons, and begins to test himself with multiple killing tools. From sickles to spears to swords, his strong arms seem to be able to handle holding the weapons.

However, I move to the Survival Training instead. It's relatively simple for me, as I've done things like fishing and finding edible plants and insects. District 8 had gone through a famine when I was ten, and Glenn, Myre, and myself had to find food for our family. I'm thanking everything I have that I'd survived and learned from that. Making fire is a little more challenging, but I eventually manage after a few tries. Camouflage, hammock making, shelters, and snares are things that I decide to spread out throughout the next few days.

Looking at the clock, I notice that we're already halfway through the day. I bite my lip and finally move towards one of the weapons stages. I already know that I'm absolutely pitiful with anything but lighter weapons. I test the weight of a small axe, finding that it isn't as heavy as its larger companion. But when I attempt to raise a heavy sword, it falls from my hands and clatters to the floor. I can hear another Tribute snickering a few feet away.

I continue to test the weight of each weapon, not revealing my skill in using them, although, within the two week training period we have, I know I'll have to practice at some point.

I feel someone come up behind me, and turn to see my dark-haired partner. "Lei, come on. We're going through the ropes course now," Clay mutters. I nod and let him drag me over to the ropes course. I get on line after the brunette from District 12, and then I hear someone yelling.

"You stole my knife!" My head whips around to see Cato, harassing another Tribute and being held back by the Peacekeepers. I frown a little and look around. I look up to see the District 11 girl twirling his knife in her hands. I have to smile.

But Cato still looked murderous as he was being held back from slaughtering the other boy. I think fast and look around the room quickly. There's a similar looking knife over on the benches near me. I walk over and grab it quickly. "Cato, is this what you're looking for?" I call over to him.

Cato's eyes snap to me as I hold up the knife. Clay hisses something to me, a warning of some sort, but my gaze doesn't break as Cato storms over. He stares down at my petite figure. He towers over me by almost half a foot. His voice is quiet as he demands, "Where did you find that?"

I shrug. "It was lying around on the benches. Someone must've moved it so it wasn't sat on and broken, or something like that. Here," I hold the knife out to him, praying he wouldn't realize it isn't the same. His hand gently reaches up and plucks the knife from my fingers, brushing my hand as he pulls away. I refuse to blink until he backs away slightly, nodding in thanks, and turning away.

A small smile arises on my face. He isn't so scary. He seems like he's trying too hard to be the bad guy. Maybe that's a good thing; he detaches himself from the other Tributes, so he feels nothing when he has to kill them. He is a Career. They are trained to kill. Cato is supposed to be a ruthless force, but maybe he's not all bad as a person. He's human, too.

I turn away, and look back. Cato looks up at the same time, and his eyes lock on mine. I send him a small smile before looking away. If I had only watched him for a second longer, I may have been able to see the smile that he sends back.

{ may the odds be ever in your favor }

I exit the elevator after an uneventful dinner. I can't sleep. I'm too stressed out by the idea of having to go back to training.

It's just as cold up on the roof as down on the eighth floor, and I frown a little. I suddenly wish I'd brought a jacket, but I don't want to return just to go grab one. A shiver runs down my back, and I cross my arms to protect myself from the cold. I look out on the city, leaning against the guardrail.

The Capitol is beautiful after dark. Even I can admit that, as it's the truth. The lights from the buildings all over the city make the city brighter than the stars in the night sky above it. I look up at the sky, and find the full moon almost immediately. I reach into my pocket and pull out my token.

_I swear that I'll do my best, Myre._

I shiver again as the breeze ruthlessly attacks me. I frown a little, rubbing my arms to bring warmth back to them.

Suddenly, a warm cloth falls over my shoulders, and I look around frantically. "Woah, calm down there," a voice says quietly. I blink a little in confusion when Cato leans next to me. I look to him, and mutter my thanks. "Don't mention it," he says shortly. "It's payment for handing me that knife today. You kept me from doing something stupid, even though it wasn't the same knife I was looking for."

I cringe and groan. "So you knew?" I look up to him, and see the smirk on his face. "Hey, whip that damn smirk off your face Cato. It's not funny!"

He laughs a little, and I smile. He has a nice laugh, when he's not laughing at another person's physical pain. His voice isn't deep, but it's clear and… it's just a really nice sound. "I knew as soon as you gave it to me. Although, it was a lot sharper than the knife that went missing, so thanks." He grins a wide, perfectly white grin and I smile again at his antics.

Pulling his jacket tighter around me, I nuzzle my face into the soft fabric. It has a nice smell to it. That sounds amazingly creepy, but it's true. It smells like chocolate and strawberries, and I wonder if that's what Cato smells like. Not that I'll ever get close enough to tell. Plus that would be seriously creepy if I did. I slip my arms through the sleeves, starting to wear it as if it was my own. It feels warm, I can't help it.

"So that's your District token?" he asks seriously, pointing at the watch. I nod. "It's really nice. Where'd you get it?"

I smile fondly at the small brass object. "Yeah… I know my family had it, but I got it from my little brother. He gave it to me before I was dragged away." I look up at Cato curiously. "Do you have one?"

He nods and reaches into his dark blue shirt. He pulls out a chain necklace with a silver shark tooth on the end. The tooth glitters in the moonlight. "I got this when I was five. It was a gift from my mom when I entered the Academy. I won't go anywhere without it," he confesses.

"You know, I expected the Careers to be scarier." I grin cheekily up at Cato. "You're not so bad. Your partner though, she worries me." His partner is a little girl, with dark hair and glittering eyes, with a sadistic weapons fetish.

He scoffs at that. "Clove isn't right in the head. I've known her for a long time, she always loved to play with knives." I laugh a little at his bluntness. "So you're Leilani? District 8? Nice name." I smile at him.

"Yeah. My mom named me. It means 'royal child of Heaven' or something like that. Most people call me Lei though, my full name is a mouthful." I don't know why I'm socializing with him so much, but he doesn't seem like a bad person. I can't bring myself to hate him.

Cato thinks for a moment. He's silent for a minute before saying, "I'm not sure, but I think Cato means 'all-knowing'. I suppose it's fitting," he jokes. I laugh again, and sit upon the guardrail, balancing myself a bit before leaning forward, holding onto the rails as I do.

I don't want to go to sleep just yet. I still can't bring myself to feel tired. "So how's your training going?" I blurt a random question, regretting it as soon as it leaves my lips. I mentally start beating myself, but Cato doesn't seem to mind. In fact, his face lights up at the question.

"It's going great. I mean, I can already do a lot of the fighting stuff that they have for us there, so I guess it's going to be a walk in the park. Training, at least, you know?" I wish I knew. I can barely pick up a sword, let alone swing it around like he does. I only look down and shake my head. "Huh? But you completed that rope course like it was nothing."

He's right. I vaulted myself across the wide gap with almost no trouble, but as I climbed back down, I just let myself drop, catching myself on both feet from the drop. I shake my head. "It was just from a lot of practice over the years, especially when I have to climb machinery back home. I'm honestly nothing special. I can't wield a sword or any type of weapon like you can," I confess quietly.

Cato frowns a little. "It's not hard. It just takes a lot of practice." Practice that he's had. Apparently the Careers train in an Academy until they volunteer for the Games.

I let out a harsh laugh. "Cato, I have less than a few days to practice now. I can't even pick up anything heavier than a knife or a hatchet. Maybe a bow and arrows, but smaller weapons are all I can do."

"Clove only uses knives. You'll be fine." I look up at him, but he's leaning next to me, facing the wall of the Training Center. I smile a little.

"Thanks." Jumping down from the guardrail, I shed his jacket and offer it back to him. Cato stops me.

A soft, almost invisible smile is on his face. "Keep it. It's colder inside," he says quietly.

I nod. "Goodnight then, Cato. I'll see you tomorrow." I put the jacket back on, taking in the sweet smell again before smiling at him once more and fleeing inside. I don't hear Cato reply, but I keep his jacket on, even as I arrive back in my own room.

Scurrying up to my room, I jump into bed, still in the clothing I was on while I sat on the roof, and curl up. Sleep eventually overtakes me, but throughout the wait, my thoughts are of home, Clay, my mentors, training, and Cato.

I suppose you can say I have a teensy crush on the blond Career from District 2.

{ may the odds be ever in your favor }

Training the next day is just as intense as yesterday. This time, however, I've joined Clay in working with weapons. He hands me a short sword, and I grab another. He picks up a long sword, and grins cheekily. I glare playfully at him, and he gently and slowly strikes down with his blade.

"Parry!" he commands. I lift both of my swords to catch his and deflect it. "Good." Clay swipes a hit horizontally, attempting to hit my chest. His movements are still a little slow. I raise one of my weapons and block him, while the other points at his chest. He groans. "Not fair, you work with two!"

I simply shrug. "Come on, I'm sure I'll beat you in axe throwing, too," I challenge him, a mocking tone to my voice.

Clay grins again. "Oh, it is so on." I laugh. We've been having competitions all throughout the day. He's bested me in wrestling, weightlifting, knives, tridents, and hand-to-hand, but I managed to steal a win from him in most all of the survival skills. But we're both getting better, that's all either of us can ask for.

Picking up a small hatchet, I look to Clay. He holds up a medium-sized axe. I look around; no one seems to be watching. I pull Clay over to a small corner, where the lighting is dimmer, and the dummies are just as far away. Clay holds up his axe. "Sure, go first," I sigh, mocking exasperation.

The axe is quick to leave his hand, landing square in the dummy's stomach. I pout a little. From the spear throwing he did yesterday, I knew he was good, but not this good. I playfully shove him out of the way, and raise my own small hatchet. With focus, I toss it, but it lands in the shoulder of the dummy. I groan.

"Wow, you do suck at this," Clay jokes. I glare at him. He sighs and walks over to the dummy, pulling both of our weapons from its foam figure. He hands mine back to me. "What you need to do is hold your axe like this." He demonstrates, and I attempt to mimic his grip. "Good. Now throw."

I throw again, aiming for the head. Of course, I miss again, but this time, I hit the neck. "Woah," I breathe. Clay laughs, and pats me on the back, congratulating me on not failing so horribly anymore.

He smiles. "Way to go, Lei. Now, let's scatter. People are getting suspicious. Anything you're going to check out now?" he asks. I follow his gaze to see Cato's eyes constantly darting over to where we're standing.

In reply, I shake my head. "No. I'm pretty decent with a bow. I cannot throw tridents, so I'm not going to try spears. Knives are pretty much the same as axes. I finished almost everything else yesterday. I'm going to try my hand at fire making again. See if I can get any faster than yesterday."

Leaning in, Clay mutters, "Be careful. I've had my eye on the Careers for a while now. District 2 hasn't been able to stop looking at you." My eyes widen. Cato has been watching me. I don't turn around, but I nod as Clay moves away. "I'll go and practice on the ropes again.

I hear him move away, and I quickly make a break for the fire making station. I kneel in the grass, breathing heavily as I look around. It looks like I'm in a panic as I tie the rope around a long stick and begin to make a fire. Smoke rises from the pile of leaves and grass and it bursts into flames.

Looking at my time, I see that it took me five minutes to make that fire. I groan. Not good enough, but it'll have to do for now. Better than yesterday, at least, when it took me seven minutes. I stand up and brush my clothing off. When I look up, my eyes find blue ones immediately.

"Cato."

He nods a little. "I saw you with that axe." My blood practically runs cold as he says that, ever so quietly. "You have a chance, Lei, why aren't you…"

I shake my head and stop him from speaking. "Cato, I'm going to die. I resigned myself to death the moment I volunteered. You have a chance though, and I'll tell you now, I'll do what I can to help you. But if you kill me, then so be it."

The blond boy frowns a little. "Kill you? Why…" I nod to his fellow Careers, and he stares at them. Their gazes are harsh as the two girls glare harshly at me, while the District 1 boy eyes Clay, who is on line after the District 12 boy for the ropes. "Don't mind them. They're just…"

"Sizing up the competition, I know. But they're looking at me and Clay like we're something to eat. I'm scared, and you know it." Cato nods quietly, and I jump down from the fire making station to see the District 12 boy fall painfully from the ropes. I gasp a little and push past Cato, who rejoins the rest of the Careers. I kneel down next to the District 12 boy. "You okay?"

He nods weakly as he sits up. "Yeah, I'm fine."

I frown and look up at the ropes. They'd twisted upside down, and I realize why he'd fallen. "When you try again, try balancing your weight. At the top, keep your hands close together, but don't be afraid to spread your feet a little."

The boy stares at me in confusion. "What…?"

"Trust me. You need to put more weight into your arms than your legs, but keep it equal so you can keep a good grip." I stand and flee towards the gauntlet, the obstacle course laid out for the Tributes.

As I run the obstacle course, I stop in the middle, hearing a loud crash from across the room. My eyes land on a weight, which had been thrown into a weapons stand, the lethal objects scattering across the floor. Cato and the Careers are standing next to the weapons, shock written across their faces. I grin; it's about time someone rubbed the smirks off their faces.

I look over to where the weight may have been thrown from. It's the District 12 boy, standing there with a frown on his face. He makes eye contact with me, and I slowly and silently clap. He smiles a little and goes back to the ropes. My gaze goes back to Cato, who suddenly looks impressed, and walks away.

I turn back to the gauntlet, and start from the beginning. The time on the clock that I'd asked to have set was two minutes. The clock started and I dashed off, running over the obstacles, tripping once or twice.

After I make it to the end, the clock stops. I'd made it in only thirteen seconds over two minutes. Not bad, I decide, and I move on. I look around the room once again, trying to decide what I'm going to use tomorrow to impress the Gamemakers.

Although I wasn't sure I wanted a high score.

Maybe I could pull a Johanna Mason, from District 7. She pretended to be a fragile little girl throughout the entire games, and made it to the top four. Once she did, she used an axe to viciously murder the rest of her competition. I think I could do that. Or I like to think so.

There are only a few problems with that strategy. First being that I don't think I can kill like she did. Secondly, Cato already saw me throwing that hatchet at the dummy, having it land in the neck. That plan is already flawed beyond repair.

I groan sadly, and sink to the floor. Whatever chance I thought that I had is gone. I have no chance of surviving past the bloodbath unless I make an alliance with someone who is willing to save my ass, and I'm sure not letting Clay die for me. He actually has a chance to survive.

"Hey." I look up to see Cato standing over me, for once, with a worried look on his face. "You okay?"

I nod slowly. "Fine."

* * *

**Thanks for all the favorites and the follows guys. :) Means a lot to me. Sorry I'm a little late in updating, but I hope you guys enjoy it. It makes me feel really good about my writing. Anyways, I'm going to be continuing this story, as I just got the movie on my computer. It makes me happy. I swear, that movie is absolutely perfect.**

**Alright, what I'm going to be doing is that I'm also going to be attempting to balance my school and my other writings. I'm going to be working mainly on this, but I'm also probably going to be starting two things: an X-Men: First Class fic and a Nolan's Batman Trilogy... well, Trilogy fic. I'm also thinking about making a series where I explore the Tributes' backstories in their home District and who they have waiting for them at home.**

**If you noticed that I made a cover, ta-dah~ I used a picture of Cato (played by Alexander Ludwig), Leilani (played by Spencer Locke), and Clay (played by Logan Lerman). I love these actors, don't hate on what they look like.**

**As for why I'm making Cato why he is, look at the title. I'm trying to explore a more human side of him. Even if he doesn't show it in the movie, I really want to just continue to explore a backstory. I also really want to make Cato seem more like a person who is also susceptible to someone he's drawn to. He has emotions, too.**

**Anyways, please review, I really would love some feedback. Flames will be used to heat up my hot cocoa. Because I don't like marshmallows. :) Thanks again guys!**


	3. t r i a l s

**trials**

My feet tap against the floor. Anxiety is finally getting to me. District 1, who I now know as Glimmer and Marvel, has already gone. Cato and his partner, Clove, have also come out, too. District 3, Loki and Mars, have already exited. Then went District 4, North and Zara, after them was District 5, Jace and Cyra, then District 6, Roth and Sidra, and finally, District 7, Chet and Jezebel. Finally, it's our turn.

"Clay Jenkins."

I squeeze Clay's hand one more time before letting go. He takes a deep breath before standing and walking forward. He's still shaking a bit. "Clay." The boy looks back, and I offer him a weak smile. "Good luck." Clay smiles back, and enters the room.

My breathing is heavy as I wait for my partner to exit the room. He staggers out, looking worn, but pleased. I stand up and rush forward. He pulls me into a hug. "I did it. I got them to look at me properly." I smile and congratulate him.

"Leilani Oakwood."

Breathing deeply, I steel myself once again and walk through the hall. My hands are shaking, but that's my only sign of weakness. Before I walk into the training room, I look back at Clay. He offers me a small smile and I go in.

The doors slide shut behind me. I walk up to stand in the center of the room. I can feel the Gamemakers' eyes on me. "L-Leilani Oakwood, District 8," I say quietly, stuttering my name out. I can see a few of the Gamemakers coo and admire how "adorable" I am. I frown and turn away, grabbing a hatchet angrily.

It flies from my fingers, and I see it sink into the left shoulder of one of the dummies. I frown; not good enough. I pull another one from the stand and toss it again. It lands in the side of the ribcage. Another lands in the leg. I frown. None of them are kill shots. I'm doomed.

I swallow harshly and bow. "Thank you." Before they can say anything and before I can see their reactions, I walk out of the room, keeping my head high. But as soon as I exit the room, I run up to Clay and start crying.

"Hey, hey, it's alright," he soothes as I sob. "I'm sure you didn't do as bad as you think you did."

Pulling away, I wipe away my tears. "I missed with three hatchets. Three. Not one, not two, but three. I have no chance," I whimpered. Clay tried to find something to say, but he couldn't find the right words. He just held my hand and brought me up to the room.

{ may the odds be ever in your favor }

_Marvel, District 1, with a score of 9._

_Glimmer, District 1, with a score of 9._

_Cato, District 2, with a score of 10._

_Clove, District 2, with a score of 10._

_Loki, District 3, with a score of 7._

_Mars, District 3, with a score of 5._

_North, District 4, with a score of 8._

_Zara, District 4, with a score of 6._

_Jace, District 5, with a score of 2._

_Vie, District 5, with a score of 5._

_Roth, District 6, with a score of 5._

_Sidra, District 6, with a score of 4._

_Chet, District 7, with a score of 6_

_Jezebel, District 7, with a score of 3._

I hold my breath as Clay's face pops up on the screen. He squeezes my hand tighter and his breathing is shaky. Cecilia and Maret lean forward in anticipation. Cloud pulls a cigarette from his mouth, and Simba steals it, tossing it away.

_Clay, District 8, with a score of 9._

I practically scream in joy as I hug Clay. He's laughing in relief and he hugs me back as we wait for my score.

_Leilani, District 8, with a score of 4._

My heart falls. I got a horrible, horrible score. I start crying again; I knew I'd done bad, but getting a 4? I had to have been one of the worst scorers there. Clay rubs my back soothingly as I cry. Simba kneels in front of me and pulls me into a comforting hug.

Cecilia attempts to cheer me up by saying, "Well, look at it this way. You've got a good opportunity tomorrow during the interviews."

I shake my head. "No, I don't, Cecilia. I'm not a people person, I'm too damn naïve and caring for any sponsor to support me." She frowns and lets Simba hug me, falling silent. Even she knows a hopeless case when she sees one. "I'm done. Let them kill me," I say quietly.

"No," Clay cuts me off. "I won't leave you behind. Either we're both getting out or I'm dying with you."

Wiping tears away, I protest, "Clay, don't you dare. I won't let you die. I'm not going to drag you down." He doesn't say anything after that. He just steals me from Simba's arms and holds me.

{ may the odds be ever in your favor }

The next day comes quickly. I'm still in a daze after the events of the pervious day. Simba dresses me and styles me on his own. He's ordered the Prep team to let us be as he makes me look good for the interviews. The only conversation that the two of us have is when he tells me to look up or raise my arms or to do something that makes his job easier for him to do.

"Close your eyes," he says as he does my hair. I obey, losing myself in my thoughts as he styles my hair nicely. I don't know how long he's playing with my hair. Hours, minutes, seconds… but when he's finished, Simba orders, "Open."

The girl in the mirror looks nothing like me. She has pale, flawless skin. Her eyebrows are thinned out and her hair is wavy. Her blue-green eyes shine, popped by the light makeup on her face. In her wavy hair is a tiara made from red ribbons. I want to cry. All of Simba's hard work won't do anything to save me.

I hug him again. He kisses my forehead. "Look at me." I look up at him, tears threatening to spill from my eyes. He shakes his finger in my face. "No. No crying. Smile, Lei. Smile and show the Capitol that you are strong."

_Always faithful. Always strong. Always courageous._

I haven't been very strong lately. I realize this as I hug Simba. "Thank you," I mutter. "Thank you." I pull away, with a bright smile on my face. "I'm going to be the strongest Tribute you'll ever see from District 8."

He nods, a smile worming its way on his face. "That's my girl. Now, when you get out on that stage, show them that you're determined to win, but be sweet and be honest. All in all, be yourself. That's going to win."

I grin again. "I never wanted to be anyone else, Simba. Thank you." He strokes my hair and hugs me once more.

{ may the odds be ever in your favor }

The interviews are going fantastic. Glimmer is playing off as a sexy young girl, depending more on her looks than her personality. Marvel is, I must admit, funny and open. Clove and Cato are both equally arrogant, and I roll my eyes, ignoring the rest of Cato's interview after the first question.

I hug Clay quickly, not letting go of his hand as I'm escorted onstage, his hand falling from my grip as we're separated. "And here's the girl whose giving and caring nature won you over from her Reaping, Leilani Oakwood!"

As I walk onstage, I smile, pausing at the entrance. I look back at Clay, who sends me an encouraging smile. I walk forward, seeing Caesar Flickerman sitting down. He has a smile on his face, and I walk over, almost tripping. I laugh at my klutziness, feeling a blush wash over my face.

Caesar stands, and shakes my hand, inviting me to sit down. He starts with his question almost immediately after I settle into my seat. "So Leilani, tell us, why did you volunteer for that little girl?"

I smile warmly and nervously play with my hair. "First off, Caesar, please call me Lei. It's a mouthful to call me Leilani. As for why I volunteered, you said the reason yourself. She's a little girl. She's a good friend to my little brother, only twelve. I wouldn't want to be in her position if I was her age. That's really why."

The blue-haired man laughs. "Well, darn! I thought it was because of your so-called relationship with your partner."

"W-With Clay?" I ask incredulously. I have to laugh. "No, no, no, I'm sorry, you've got it all wrong. We've never even spoken before a few days ago." I laugh nervously. "He's the only friend I've got in the arena now."

"Aw, well everyone thinks you two are adorable." I blush a little, laughing along with Caesar. "Then I have to ask if you have anyone back home? Or anyone at all that you harbor special feelings for?"

My eyes widen, and I pause. "Wow, hard question, Caesar." I frown a little, putting my finger to my chin as I sigh. Only two blue eyes flash in my head. I recognize them immediately as Cato's eyes, the ones that he used to pin me with a fierce gaze after the Tribute Parade, the ones he used to look down at me and tell me that I was doing better than he'd expected. "Well, I don't know. But I know I won't be able to tell him, even if I was sure of my feelings."

He frowns a little and leans in closer, as if asking me a secret. "Two more questions; why aren't you able to tell him? And who is he?" he asks, speaking quietly into the microphone.

I shake my head, laughing, and lean in as well, speaking into the microphone. "Well… based on my training score, I have about a very small chance, if any, of surviving. I wouldn't get to tell him. As for who he is… I'm afraid I can't tell you. After all, he's someone who's watching this right now."

Caesar laughs good-naturedly and throws his head back. I smile; I'm actually rather enjoying this. "Your partner volunteered for your little brother. Did you say anything to him before you left?"

Now this confused me. "To Clay…? Why? He came here with me."

The crowd laughs, as does Caesar. Suddenly I feel stupid, and my face flushes a deep red once more. "No, sorry dear, but I'm talking about your little brother," Caesar repeats, this time so I can understand.

I pause again, folding my hands neatly over my dress and biting my lip. After a few moments, I quietly ask, "Caesar, did you know I'm one of four kids?" He shakes his head. "Well, all three of my siblings came to visit me, and I promised them all the same thing. I promised them that I'd try to win. And I'm going to try."

Once again, that seems to win the crowd. They give me sympathetic looks as I realize that there are tears running down my face. I quickly look to the side and wipe them away before Caesar asks, "One last question. That song that was sung at your Reaping, when you and your partner volunteered, what was that?"

Smiling, I reply, "That's a lullaby from District 8. It's a lullaby called 'Safe & Sound', one that used to be sung at… at funerals."

"Aw…" Caesar coos. "Would you mind singing it for us?"

I nod. "Sure. But I don't sing very well." I take a deep breath and realize that Panem is watching. Myre had always loved this song as a child. "Just close your eyes, the sun is going down. You'll be all right. No one can hurt you now. Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound…"

{ may the odds be ever in your favor }

Unable to sleep, Cato finds me on the roof again that night. I stare out at the city again as I hear footsteps behind me. I still have his jacket on over my pajamas, zipped up to protect my tiny figure from the cold. I don't turn around. I can tell it's him. "Hey there, Cato," I greet quietly.

"Hey there, Lei," he replies. He moves forward and looks out on the city with me, leaning against the rail as well. "Nice interview."

I grin a little. "Same to you." The noise from below is deafening. The Capitol people are celebrating the start of the Hunger Games. "They make me sick," I deadpan. "They're cheering for our deaths." Cato's hand lands on mine. "I'm not going to play their sick game."

Cato looks down at me. "You're going to have to."

Shaking my head, I look up. "No. I don't have to. It's not a situation with no choice. I've made my choice this time. I'm going to die and I know it. But I'm going to show the Capitol that they have a reason to fear the Districts."

"I guess you've got a point there. Just be careful, okay?"

I laugh dryly. "Cato, this is the Hunger Games. I can't be careful while running for my life. I only have Clay to depend on."

He shakes his head and turns me around to face him, his eyes boring into mine. "Not true. You've got me, too, Lei, don't forget that."

I frown a little. "Cato, you're a District 2 Career with the second highest score and an amazing chance at winning. I mean, your odds are one to one. Mine are fifty to one, as much as I don't like to admit it."

"Listen to me. Lei, I am not going to let you die." I try to stutter something out, but Cato shakes me, and puts a finger to my lips, his stare practically burning through my skull. "You listen. I swear to you that at that Cornucopia, I will watch you and make sure that you don't die."

"Cato…"

He shakes his head and shushes me again as I try to speak, try to talk some reason into him. "No. Listen. Don't talk. There's just… I don't know, something about you. If we'd met under normal circumstances, I'm pretty sure that I'd have passed you up, to be honest. But I guess it's because we're in the Hunger Games. But I can't watch you die."

Before I can say a word, Cato's lips are on mine, even if only a moment. He pulls away, and I stutter out a few words that are complete nonsense. But Cato understands my message of shock. He just kisses me again, this time a little longer than the first.

He pulls back slightly. "You see? This is why I can't watch you die."

I frown a little, but kiss him lightly. "Cato, you know that once we're in the games together, your entire group will be trying to kill me. You know that we…" He shushed me, and hugged me to him. "Cato. Only one of us would win. You and I are… an impossible feat."

"But Lover boy and Fire girl are? That's not fair. Lei, forget the Careers. Forget that we're in the Games. Forget…"

I cut him off this time. "Cato. You listen now. To be honest, I'm also really, really attracted to you. You've never done anything to wrong me, but I can't yet say if my feelings for you are so solid like I hope they are."

He nods quietly, clearly understanding the severity of what could happen if we did go through with a relationship. "I'm still not going to let you die. I said I'm going to do my very best to keep you alive. And I will. I promise, Lei.

Frowning, I grab his hand. "You know that I have to look after Clay as well. We're District 8. We look out for each other."

Cato thinks for a moment. "Well, he did get an amazing training score. 9, right?" I nod quietly. "Hey. Hey, I've seen you train. You're amazing, just as amazing as your partner, and you know it." I smile at his warm words and nuzzle my face into his shirt. He wraps his arms around me again, and I feel safe. I feel safer than I do in Clay's arms. He tangles one of his hands in my hair and rests his other firmly on my back. He nuzzles his face in my hair. "So this will be a secret for now?"

I nod against him. "Yeah… for now. But… please, Cato. Don't forget that I care about you. I don't want to watch you die." He begins to say something, but I continue, "If anything happens to me in that arena tomorrow or the following days, and if I'm beyond your help, run. Just leave me and run."

"I won't, and you damn well know it," he growls protectively. He pulls away and kisses my forehead. "Get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a long day for the both of us," mutters Cato, resting his lips against my forehead.

I nod slowly and kiss his cheek. "Goodnight, Cato. I… I'll see you tomorrow." He nods, a small, gentle smile on his face. He squeezes my hand softly before letting me go back to my floor. "Hey," I call before closing the elevator doors. He turns from the city to look at me. "You need sleep too. Don't stay out too late." He nods, not saying a word as the elevator takes me down to my floor.

{ may the odds be ever in your favor }

The blue-haired Caesar sits back down, the good-looking teenager with a broad grin sitting right next to him. "So Cato, you come from District 2?"

"Yeah, that's right," Cato replies, nodding proudly. "I'm real excited to be here."

Caesar makes a surprised face and laughs. "Well, that's good to hear! Why are you excited about these games?"

The blond shrugs, a smirk plastered on his handsome face. "It's an honor for me to represent my District." That wins people over as the Capitol people begin to cheer for the young Career. Clearly, he's already a favorite to win.

"So you're a fighter?"

Cato nods, one of his legs crossed over his other. His foot is twitching, he seems to be almost irritated that he has to be here. "I'm prepared. I'm vicious. I'm ready to go." He hopes it's over as he continues to be grilled by the host of the Hunger Games Interviews.

He answers all the questions with relative ease, but when Caesar asks one specific question, he has difficulty answering. "Do you have anybody special in your life?" The people of the Capitol, especially the females, hold their breath as Cato struggles to find the right words to answer.

"Yes. Yes, I do. Although by the time I get out of that arena, I'm not sure she'll want to be with me. You know, I'm not sure if she'll even be able to be with me. But like the Games, I'm going to try," he answers, hoping that he won't be asked who she is. But Caesar does ask who she is. "Well… I can't give a name. But she's beautiful. She's got this long blonde hair that just fits her perfectly, and every time I see her, I just want to protect her with everything I've got."

The entire audience practically swoons, and Cato knows that his mentors won't be too happy with his answer. He'd left a bit of mystery, but he knows that Enobaria and Brutus aren't dumb. They'll realize sooner or later that the girl he likes is one of the Tributes.

More specifically, she's the District 8 Tribute, Leilani Oakwood. She's the girl who captured the hearts of the Capitol with her nature and her song. She's the girl who made a promise to her siblings.

Cato Falkner likes Leilani Oakwood.

{ may the odds be ever in your favor }

The morning of the Games is hectic and stressful. Clay and I are saying tearful goodbyes to Woof and Cecilia. She winks at the two of us. "I'm rooting for the both of you," she whispers. She smiles before turning away, and I can see tears in her eyes. She doesn't want to lose us.

Woof grabs onto my hand, and I smile at him. I hug him softly. "Thank you for everything, Woof."

He pulls away and grabs onto a piece of my hair, his eyes boring into mine. He smiles slightly. "You win," he says softly. "You fight, an' you win." I can tell that he's not just making me promise. He's going to be rooting for me.

I nod. "I'll try, Woof." I turn and grab Clay's hand as we walk towards the hovercraft. I pull away from Clay as he takes a seat near the exit. I walk over and sit across from Cato, who sends me a tiny, reassuring smile. I grin and blush, looking away from Cato, whose smirk only grows.

"Give me your arm." A Capitol woman grabs my arm and sticks a needle in it. I squeak a little in pain as a small, glowing object snakes into my arm. I whimper as she pulls the needle out. Clutching my arm to my chest, I look over at Cato, who only winces slightly as the needle is jabbed in his arm.

The entire flight is silent. All twenty-four of the Tributes are lost in thought. I'm thinking of whether or not I should follow Cecilia's advice. She specifically told both Clay and me not to run towards the Cornucopia. But at the Cornucopia will be food and weapons and things that I'll need to survive. I nudge Cato's foot with my own, and his eyes shoot up to meet mine.

I smile at him and he subtly moves his hand to place it over his heart. In the Districts, that's a silent way of promising someone something.

Seeing the hand over his heart, I make the decision to run at the Cornucopia. I know Cato won't let me die. I mimic his gesture, putting my hand over my heart. He grins a little. Now we've both made promises.

His promise is that he's going to protect me. My promise is that I'll try to stay safe.

{ may the odds be ever in your favor }

As soon as the door to my room opens, I run in and hug Simba. He strokes my hair as I sob into his arms. He shushes me, and quietly begins to sing. "Just close your eyes, the sun is going down. You'll be all right. No one can hurt you now. Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound…"

My heart almost breaks in two as my stylist sings in a soft, sweet voice. He sings the lines of the lullaby that I sung not too long ago in my interview. I repeat him in a shaky voice. "You and I'll be safe and sound…"

He pulls away. "I want you to win. Do your best," he mutters, wrapping the jacket around me. It's over Cato's jacket, which is already a violation of the rules.

"I will." I can't bring myself to promise. Simba kisses my forehead. "Thank you for everything." Simba hugs me once more before I pull away and walk towards the tube that will take me up to the top. "I'll see you later."

Simba smiles, taking those words as a promise that I'll come out alive. "See you later," he repeats. I wave to him one last time, a smile on my face as my pedestal flies to the top, into the arena.

I look around at the forested area, and think that I'm going to die. My eyes fly all over the place, looking for Clay and for Cato. Clay is six Tributes down from me, while Cato is only four, in the other direction. I look at Cato, and he moves his hand over his heart once more as the countdown continues.

Having to smile at that, I focus on the Cornucopia. There are weapons inside, but I'm honestly terrified. But Cato promised, and I plan on holding him to it. Clay doesn't know. No one but us knows.

I think of my parents, my two brothers, and my sister. Cato's jacket is wrapped around me, too big for my body. But the jacket that's part of the uniform given to us is keeping it from falling off my shoulders. For some reason, the warmth of the fabric gives me reason to keep hoping that I'll be alive after an hour.

The countdown continues from one minute.

I bite my lip. There's only one minute left until the race to survive begins. I can feel my heart racing once again, and my hands start to shake. I clench my fists and continue to remind myself why I'm here, why I volunteered for the arena.

Jade. Myre. Fleur. Glenn. Clay. With those thoughts, I look up, a fierce expression written across my face. I look over to Cato and nod. He grins a little and turns back to the Cornucopia.

There's thirty seconds left.

I can feel my pulse beating faster and faster as I grow more and more anxious. My eyes narrow and I lean forward, preparing to take off. I can feel the watch, which Simba had put on a necklace and had me tuck in my shirt. I can feel its metal hanging against my chest. It's ticking down the seconds along with the clock.

My eyes lock on the weapons and the bags inside and around it. Tributes all around me have the same fierce expression on their faces.

The world is watching.

Let the Games begin.

* * *

**I'm really, really excited for this next chapter. It's the Bloodbath!**

**So um... yeah, no reviews and very few favorites... I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but it's kind of making my self esteem go pretty far down. If you'd like to leave a review, please do! It'd certainly make me feel better about continuing this story...**

**Anyways, this chapter is much shorter than the others, as I had to cut it short from the actual Games. I wanted to add Woof in, as well as give Simba a pretty good role. He's going to be really important in the future, and I absolutely adore him. He's my favorite character I've created in a long time. He's created to give a sense of familiarity and strangeness to Lei's world, and to be the person she goes to for some "adult" support.**

**Clay is another favorite character of mine. Of course, I love Lei, but Clay is literally my baby. I love that kid. I think he's just adorable, which made me expand his part as I was writing this story.**

**Now, as for having Leilani and Cato have a relationship so quickly, I wanted to make it one of those things where falling "in like" with someone doesn't take a long time. It really doesn't. Getting to know someone is a basic thing, having them being attractive makes it easy. Cato and Lei have around... oh, half a month left. I'd want someone who cares about me there at the end. It's a personal preference. They're "in love" with each other, but right now, it's a cute, kissing under the table relationship. It evolves to a point later, but why I'm having their relationship go as it's going is because of the themes of this story.**

**As for my next project (considering how this one is almost finished), it will be a side project. It'll be a story about the Tributes of the 74th Hunger Games, as well as the mentors, who have been in the games, and have either had someone ripped away from them by the Games or have someone waiting for them at home, but are unable to make it back due to their deaths.**

**The other two projects I'm currently working on is for The Walking Dead and X-Men: First Class. I suppose I'm a real sucker for action stories.**

**Anyways, review, favorite, follow, whatever you want.**

**Thanks for sticking around!**


	4. e n d u r a n c e

** endurance**

10…

9…

8…

7…

6…

5…

4…

3…

2…

1.

As soon as the clock disappears, the twenty-four Tributes, one boy and one girl from each District, take off across the field towards the Cornucopia, and in some cases, away.

Almost immediately, a thick crimson red spills onto the grass. Not even five minutes into the Hunger Games, bodies are already lining the ground, showing off to Panem that the Capitol can force us to do this.

I try to stay away from the carnage, dashing towards a small backpack. Sliding towards it, I sling it onto my back. I can't hear anything at this point. Adrenaline has taken over my entire body. I can see Cato and the other Careers slaughtering the defenseless Tributes. With that thought in mind, I quickly reach for anything that I can use to defend myself.

My hand wraps around a short sword, and I grab it blindly. There's another laying only a few inches from the first one, and I make a grab for it, pulling the other short sword towards me as well. I grasp both of them, one in each hand, and I push myself to my feet and look for Clay. He's nowhere in sight.

A hand grabs mine. I look over to see Clay. He's saying something I can't hear. I shake my head wildly, trying to tell him that I can't hear what he's saying. His face grows concerned and and he just pulls me along, away from the bloody sight of the Cornucopia.

I notice that Clay has a large group of weapons strung across his back, covering his backpack. He's holding a giant axe with a long handle as he pulls me along with him. I look back for Cato, trying to see if he's coming, too.

If I try, I swear that I can hear the Capitol people screaming and cheering. They're cheering for our deaths outside of the arena. But I'm not dead. Me, the girl who got a measly four from Training has survived the first half-hour of the bloody Hunger Games. I've survived the killing spree of the angry, bloodthirsty, and dangerous Career Tributes. I've made it.

I'm still alive.

Clay sinks to the ground as we stop, leaning against a tree. For some reason, seeing all those kids, most of them younger than me, just broke me completely. I didn't even know most of their names.

"Zara?! Zara, where are you?!" a childish voice cries out. Clay is immediately on the offensive, unsheathing a sword. I shake my head and push his hand down. Sliding the two short swords onto my belt, I walk forward. "Zara?" I peer out from around the trees to see the small, frail boy from District 4. He's covered in blood and has his hand wrapped around a sheathed knife.

I walk out of the trees. The boy, whose name I remember is North, turns with tears in his eyes. "Hey… are you okay?"

He shakes his head and is about to reply, but a cannon shot cuts him off. Then a second one rings from a distance. They continue until I count ten cannon shots. I frown sadly. Ten teenagers, ten children, are dead already. They are – were – all around my age.

"Do you know where Zara is?" North asks quietly. He's shaking, as if I'm about to hurt him. I kneel in front of him and ruffle his dark hair. "Zara… she's my District partner. She told me to run… where is she?"

I frown even more. "Your name is North, right?" He nods slowly, eying the swords at my side. "I won't hurt you. Come on sweetheart, let's go. We've got to get away from here." I hold out my hand to the boy.

North slowly places his hand in mine, and puts his knife in his pocket. He takes a deep breath, shuttering as he does. "Zara's dead, isn't she?" he whimpers. I can see tears form in his eyes as I lead him back to Clay.

"I'm so sorry North." He starts crying quietly at the loss of his partner, someone he's depended on, and I bring him to Clay. "Clay." The dark-haired boy looks up at me from his seated position. "Clay, this is North. He lost his partner."

Clay's eyes soften a little. North's records show that he's only twelve, the same age as his little sister. "Hey there kid. We're going to get you through this, okay?" North nods, his eyes still a bit teary, but he manages a weak smile.

I hear something in the background, laughter and yelling. From the sound of it, I can tell it's the Careers. Glimmer, Marvel, Clove… and Cato. I know I can depend on Cato, but I doubt I can trust any of the others. After all, Cato and I are keeping our little relationship a secret.

My eyes widen as Glimmer spots us and she draws an arrow, notching it in her bow. I push North down and pick up a knife that Clay had picked up from the Cornucopia. With a loud grunt, I toss it, and push North away. "Go, go, go!" I yell quickly, grabbing our things. Clay grabs all the weaponry and I grab our two bags, and we run. I feel arrows streaking past my head, and I let out a yell.

It hasn't even been ten minutes since the bloodbath, and the Careers are already on our tail. I turn to see Glimmer notching another arrow, and I quickly reach into my bag. There's matches, like I'd hoped, and I quickly strike one. The small piece of wood lights up, and I throw it. A fire starts only a few inches behind me, spreading quickly through the dry leaves.

Glimmer and the other Careers don't follow. I lock eyes with Cato as they stop and glare at me. North and Clay continue to run. He gives me a small nod and turns away, perhaps to go find that girl from District 12, Katniss, who scored an 11. All I know is that he's leading them away from us.

But I don't stop running. Clay, North, and I continue along to a large cave. It seems safe. Clay tosses a rock into the cave, which clatters, but doesn't make a sound. He walks in first, still unsure of whether or not another Tribute is in there.

No one tries to kill us as we enter the cave. It's a start.

{ may the odds be ever in your favor }

Between Clay, North, and I, we have enough food for up to three days. Dried berries and meats, three canteens, and while Clay can hunt, North is the best fisher, and I'm pretty good at telling what's edible. The three of us have a chance, I decide.

The Panem National Anthem makes me look at the sky. The seal of the Capitol is flashing, and it shows the faces of the dead Tributes. I hear a sniffle come from North as Zara's pretty face shows up on the screen of those who had "fallen".

"I'll take first watch," I offer weakly. Both Clay and North look exhausted. Both of them are about to protest, but I throw my bag at them. "Sleep. I'll wake you guys when it's your turn."

Even though I say that I'll wake them up, I have no intention of doing so. Clay and North reluctantly fall asleep, both hidden under an open sleeping bag. I smile at them; they almost look like brothers.

A voice whispers, "Leilani. Hey, come over here." I recognize it as Cato's voice, and I see his face peeking out from behind a thick tree. I shake my head, and he sighs. "No one else is with me. I went out unarmed, too, I have nothing on me."

Slowly, I stand and walk over to the blond Career. "Yes, Cato?"

He frowns a little. "I had to come see you." I smile a little and gently reach for his hand. "Hey, listen to me. We're getting out of here, I promise." My eyes widen as I look at his arm. "What?"

"You're bleeding," I whimper. He follows my gaze to where he has a small, but deep gash on his arm. "Here… let me help you." Cato begins to protest, but I cut him off by scurrying back to the cave. There's a roll of bandages in my bag, and I rip off a small portion.

He almost smiles as I wrap the fabric around his arm, trying to stop the bleeding. "You don't have to do this, Lei." I shush him as I finish tying a knot. "But thanks anyways. You're so stubborn."

I smile a little. "You should really wear your jacket. It's going to get colder and colder, you know."

Cato gestures to the fabric that hides my body. "And you're still wearing that thing." I frown in protest and hug myself. He chuckles a little as I cuddle into the soft jacket. It still smells like Cato, like chocolate and strawberries.

"I like this jacket, I'll have you know. I got it from someone special," I reply sweetly, laughing a little. "He's someone I care about very much."

Leaning forward, he whispers into my ear, "This guy must be pretty special to you if you wore that jacket into the Games." A shiver runs down my spine, and I press closer to him. He practically purrs as he wraps his hands around my waist. "What's he like?"

I nuzzle my face into his neck and whisper, "He's strong… and brave. He's handsome, too. He's always sweet to me."

He pulls back a little, but leans his forehead against mine. "And what's this guy's name?" he asks expectantly, his whisper ghosting over my lips.

"Cato."

With that, Cato kisses me again, much more fiercely than he had the last time. I kiss back again, pulling him closer to me as he hugs me tighter. He kisses my nose before warily looking back at the forest.

He frowns apologetically. "I can't stay. I've got to go before Clove gets suspicious. I told her I was going to look for food or something." He kisses me one more time, caressing my face, then slowly walks back where he came from. "Oh, and, Lei?" He smiles widely. "Keep the jacket. It looks good on you."

{ may the odds be ever in your favor }

"Wow. A secret romance that leads to an alliance and protection for District 8." To say that Panem is shocked by what the cameras catch at night is an understatement. The entire world is able to see what the two Tributes are hiding.

Cato, District 2, and Leilani, District 8, are seeing each other and have a romantic relationship that no one can really tell how long it's been going.

Claudius nods in agreement to Caesar's statement. "I doubt the Careers will be very happy if they find out Cato is romantically involved with another Tribute."

Laughing, Caesar adds, "Especially not that girl, Glimmer! She seems to like him, huh?" Claudius nods again. "I've got to wonder how this romance is going to play out. First, the Star-Crossed Lovers of District 12, now the Forbidden Love between two Tributes of Districts 2 and 8!"

{ may the odds be ever in your favor }

Finnick Odair smirks a bit as he watches the boy from 2 and the girl from 8 kissing where they hope no one can see them. From the corner of his eye, he sees Enobaria, looking horrified at her Tribute's actions, and Cecilia, who actually doesn't look all that shocked.

"What an interesting turn of events," he muses, grinning widely. He watches as the girl, Leilani, walks back over to the cave, and sits back down.

She reaches into the zipped up jacket, which Finnick now knows belongs to Cato, although he doesn't know how Leilani got her hands on that, and takes out a watch that hangs from a chain around her neck. She opens the pocket watch and stares at it for a moment before looking back. There's some rustling in the cave, and she closes it sharply.

Finnick stands and walks over to Enobaria. "So, m'dear, how does it feel to have a fierce Tribute that has feelings for a girl in the arena?" he taunts. Glaring, Enobaria swipes at him with her wine glass.

While the young mentor manages to avoid being slammed in the face by glass, he doesn't avoid the red liquid staining his face. "Hilarious," Enobaria spits out. "I'm going to kill him if he doesn't snap out of it and win."

"Hun, if he doesn't snap out of it and win, he's dead," Finnick shoots back, not missing a beat. He grabs a napkin, wiping his handsome face off with the white cloth. It looks like it's being stained by blood, and Finnick quickly tosses it away. She doesn't reply, just huffs again. In a more serious tone, Finnick says, "That kid, he's the same as I was in my games," he says gravely. "If she dies, he most likely won't make it either. He's in love with her."

Enobaria nods solemnly. "I know. I think that's what worries me the most."

Leaning over, Finnick whispers, "Don't let that little girl die, Enobaria. Keep her alive as long as you can. If you do, it'll eventually come down to just the two of them. That girl, from what I've seen, she's ready to sacrifice anything to ensure the safety of another person."

Nodding, Enobaria understands what Finnick is saying. "So she'll kill herself or have Cato do it if they're the final two."

"No." The dark-haired woman looks up in surprise. Finnick is dangerously serious, and he's staring at the screen, where Caesar and Claudius are speaking about the forbidden romance of the two Tributes. "He'd kill himself before he let her die. Their attachment to each other? It's only going to get stronger now that they're in the danger zone. Either way…" Finnick pauses, trying to find a right way to phrase his next words. "Either way, both of them have to survive, or Cato is going to die."

The District 2 mentor curses quietly at Finnick's new turn of events. Getting both of those Tributes out alive is going to be near impossible. Especially with the Girl on Fire as their competition.

{ may the odds be ever in your favor }

The next day is honestly uneventful. North and Clay find meat and fish for us, while I manage to get plants that are edible as well as good for medicine. We store them in our bags after cooking the fish and meat so it won't smell.

We survive by sticking together, which really is the best strategy we have. No one goes anywhere without the other two. We protect each other. North reminds both Clay and me of our little siblings. I honestly don't want to see him die. I want to see North make it safely out.

But then I remember. This is the Hunger Games, and only one person can survive. I'm not going to be that person, and I know it.

As North and Clay goof off, I sit and keep watch for any Career tributes. I pull out my watch once again and look at the time. Back home, it'd be a little past two in the afternoon. My siblings and I would be coming home from school about now. We'd all be laughing and joking like North and Clay are.

It makes me want to cry. Quickly snapping the watch shut, I put it back into my jacket before I seem like too much of a crybaby.

"Lei… are you okay?" North's quiet, childish voice asks. I look up at him, a weak and watery smile on my face. I nod, not wanting him to hear my voice waver. "You're not. What's wrong?"

Finally breaking down, I start crying and hug North. He wraps his small arms around me as I sob. "I want to go home, North. I don't want to be here anymore," I cry, my voice muffled in North's fluffy hair. "I hate this. I hate these so-called Games. I hate being stuck here, and I hate being forced to fight to the death with people who are my age and younger."

Clay's arms wrap around both of us and he squeezes us tight. "Hey, hey… it's okay. I'm going to make sure that you two get home," he vows quietly. "Even if it kills me, I promise."

The thing is, I'm worried that it will kill Clay.

Finally letting go of North, the three of us sit back for a minute. I stand slowly, brushing off leaves and dirt from my pants. "I'm going for a walk. Yes, I'm taking my swords. No, you two will stay right here. I'll be right back."

Without waiting for their response, I walk off, looking all around. For a few minutes, I wander away from my two friends and allies. I continue to walk for what feels like a long time, but in reality, is only a few minutes. Maybe it's because I haven't been alone in the longest time.

I stop and hide behind a thick tree trunk as I hear footsteps and loud laughter. I unsheathe one of my swords, holding it tightly in my fist as the laughter grows closer. I can hear Glimmer and Clove talking loudly. I peek out and see the Career alliance, now including Peeta from District 12.

Cato is there, too. Kneeling down slowly, I grab a rock from the ground, turning it a few times in my palm. I aim for Cato's side, and toss the rock. It hits him gently, and he looks around. His eyes lock with mine.

"I'm going to go check something out," he lies. Before Glimmer can demand where he's going, he slips into the thicker part of the woods. I peel myself away from the tree and run forward, quickly catching up to the blond. "Hey."

I cut to the chase. "Cato, if it came down to it, would you kill me?"

His eyes widen as he stops short. "What? What're you saying, Lei…?" he asks, almost as if he expects me to turn around and say that I'm just joking around. My face is serious. "Lei…"

{ may the odds be ever in your favor }

_"Cato, if it came down to it, would you kill me?"_

Haymitch's eyebrows practically shoot sky high. He certainly wasn't been expecting that when the cameras moved to the two "forbidden lovers", and now, he's curious to see how he's going to reply. Their conversation goes back and forth for a few minutes as they debate on whether or not Leilani is joking.

_"Lei, listen to me now, and you listen good. If I killed you, I wouldn't be able to live with myself."_

_"Cato, you realize that the Cornucopia Bloodbath stole ten Tributes away from their families. I wouldn't be any different. All you'd have to do is stick that sword through my chest, and I'd be gone."_

_"Shut up! You're so dumb. It's not like I can't kill you. It's that I won't."_

Haymitch leans back in his seat. Oh, how Cato reminds the older victor of Finnick. It's almost scary how the two of them seem so similar, not just in manner, but in their situation. Even Haymitch is similar to Cato and his pitiful situation. Three of them, Finnick, Haymitch, and Cato, all have fallen in love with someone whose fate was and is to die.

In the 2nd Quarter Quell, the 50th Hunger Games, Haymitch had been Reaped and sent into the games with a girl he fell in love with from the Seam. Her name was Serah. She died in the Bloodbath. Haymitch had been unable to make it to her before a sword went through her chest. But she made Haymitch promise to her that he'd win. He won because she wanted him to, and he wasn't about to disappoint her.

As for Finnick, before he met Annie Cresta, he'd been in love with a girl named Mae, a girl from District 1. They'd allied with each other, along with the rest of the Careers, but the girl from District 2 slit Mae's throat in the middle of the night. Finnick later killed her slowly and painfully.

Ever so often, more often nowadays, there's a Tribute that happens to fall in love with another Tribute. Most of the victors that are living have seen the same thing happen to them as Cato is going through now. Cato and Leilani are just more explicit about their relationship.

Gloss lost someone in the arena. Johanna watched her boyfriend and District partner die. Haymitch won for the girl he loved after her death. Finnick's first love was murdered in the Games. Now, not only are Katniss and Peeta doomed to the same fate, but so are Cato and Leilani.

Haymitch frowns as Cecilia immediately gets up. "Hey. Where the hell are you going?" he demands.

"I'm not about to let Leilani kill herself like this," she replies firmly. Cecilia's motherly instinct never fails her, as she's usually right. She's had to watch most of her Tributes die for the past fourteen years.

With that being said, Haymitch simply lets her go. Finnick collapses on the couch next to him. "She isn't what you thought, that girl."

Throwing a glare at the younger man, he grinds out, "I'm watching what the damn Capitol decides to show us." The situation that the two younger Tributes are in is almost painful for Haymitch to watch, due to the similarities between the Games that he was in and the Games that are playing on the screen now. Finnick grins a little, holding up his hands in surrender. "Look, I know you're just taking an interest in her 'cause she's saving your last Tribute left."

Finnick shakes his head. "No. I'm not interested in her, I'm interested in the kid and if he's going to do the same thing that any of _us_ had to do." Haymitch frowns. When Finnick says "us", he means the victors that had to watch the ones they loved die in front of them in the Games.

He gazes back at the screen. Cato's face is stony and protective as he stares down at Leilani in his arms. "He's not going to make the same mistakes we did, Finnick. You know he won't."

"I'm just not going to let another Tribute die for love," Finnick practically spits. "I almost made that mistake, too. You saw it, Haymitch."

_"I will never let you die. I can't… I can't see leaving this arena without you with me."_

_"Cato…"_

Haymitch stands violently, almost turning over the table. Finnick only continues to stare at the screen, at Cato and Leilani. It would be so much more touching if only the both of them were able to escape from the arena.

And suddenly, Finnick realizes that he's rooting for the two of them. Not for his own Tributes or for the Star-Crossed Lovers of District 12. He wants both Cato and Leilani to make it out.

{ may the odds be ever in your favor }

Cato stares down at me, his eyes still seeming to ask if I'm joking. "Cato, just answer the question," I demand. I'm particularly frustrated by his lack of response. "Please. I need to know. And no lying… there's no point to lie."

He finally says, "No. I can't kill you, Lei."

I practically yell at him, "Shut up and stop lying! You can kill me, Cato, it'd be so easy for you!" He glares at me.

"Lei, listen to me now, and you listen good." His tone is abnormally serious, which shuts me up quickly. "If I killed you, I wouldn't be able to live with myself," Cato confesses quietly turning back around to keep moving.

Shaking my head, I wearily reply, "Cato, you realize that the Cornucopia Bloodbath stole ten Tributes away from their families. I wouldn't be any different. All you'd have to do is stick that sword through my chest, and I'd be gone."

Cato whirls around, practically glaring at me. His hands grip my arms. His face is too close to mine. I can feel heat rushing to my face. "Shut up! You're so dumb. It's not like I can't kill you. It's that I won't." He pauses, running one hand through his hair, an exasperated look on his face. "I could, you know. Right now, right in this very spot. No one in this arena would ever know that it was me." He reaches up and carefully cups my face in his hands. "I could take your head in both my hands and twist. Your neck would be broken. You'd be dead on the spot." Instead of twisting though, his hands fall to my shoulders. "I could've done that so many times, Lei. But I didn't. I can't kill you, stupid."

I realize he's right. We'd met privately last night, and he could've thrown something at me through the fire instead of walking away. But he hadn't. Each time I'm with him, he never shows any sign of being violent towards me. I feel stupid and I move forward, burying my head in his chest.

His arms wrap around me, and he strongly declares, "I will never let you die. I can't… I can't see leaving this arena without you with me. I just wouldn't be able to do it."

My eyes widens as he kisses the top of my head repeatedly. "Cato…" I mutter softly, clutching at his shirt. His hold on me tightens as I can feel myself beginning to cry once again.

"Hey, don't cry," he says.

I pull away, viciously wiping away my tears. "I know, I know. God, I'm such a crybaby. Everyone must think I'm so stupid."

He grins a little. "I don't think you're stupid. I think you're sensitive, and do you want to know something?" I look up at him curiously. "I think you're adorable when you cry. It makes me want to wipe away those tears and protect you from whatever is making you cry."

I smile and slowly stand on my toes, pressing my lips to his. He kisses back with a gentleness that I feel is made for me.

When he pulls away, I ask, "Cato, when did you start to like me?" I ask this childish question out of sheer curiosity. I want to know at what point he started to have feelings for me.

Cato thinks for a moment. "I'm not sure. I know when I met you, you were crying. I didn't really care all that much at that point, to be honest. But I felt as if you didn't deserve to be the one in tears." He purses his lips, trying to think. "Actually, I think I started feeling weird around you when you sent me that smile after the Parade. It was so different than the first time I saw you. After that, I guess it just went from there." He hugs me to his side as he starts walking.

"You're sweet." He rolls his eyes and squeezes me a little as we continue to walk. "As for me, I guess when I first saw you. I was upset about leaving behind everything, you know? I'd kind of resigned myself to die right before you found me. You asked me why I volunteered. It kind of reminded me that I have to fight hard because I have to go home to someone. Not to mention I thought you were cute."

Cato's lips press upon the top of my head. I kiss his jaw, and I realize we're back near where Clay and North are. "Go on," he says. "I can't steal you forever."

I look up at him, one eyebrow raised skeptically. "How the hell did you even know where our camp is?" Cato shrugs. "Come on, Cato!" I practically whine, pouting like a kid who's had their toy taken away.

He puts a finger to my lips. "Trade secret," he whispers. "I'll see you later, Lei." His finger drops from my lips. He walks away again, but this time, I smile.

"See you later." Those words, the exact ones I said to Simba before I went up to the arena, are still the same promise, too. He's promising that neither of us will die. We'll both live to see each other again.

{ may the odds be ever in your favor }

Simba smiles. He's not dumb. He's Leilani's stylist. She'd come into the room below the arena with a large jacket over her clothing, and he'd been surprised that the Peacekeepers let her in with that on. It definitely hadn't been hers. He knew that it had to be a boy's.

Not many people had the build to fit in that jacket. It was between Thresh, Cato, and Peeta. Simba had immediately ruled Peeta out, due to the kid's love for the Girl on Fire. He'd ruled out Thresh, too, as Thresh hadn't been seen associating with many other Tributes.

He'd seen Cato's look towards her at the Tribute Parade and backstage. He'd known that they'd been hiding something. He just hopes that it'll last.

{ may the odds ever be in your favor }

Another day passes without many events. No one is dying, I know that much. There hasn't been a cannon in almost two days now. The Gamemakers must be getting restless. I mentally count down the people that are left.

There's both from the two Career Districts, District 1 and 2, which means Cato, Clove, Glimmer, and Marvel.

Loki, the boy from District 3 escaped the Cornucopia, although I don't know where he is.

North, from District 4, is with me.

That girl from District 5, Vie, is still alive. I don't know where she is either.

Me and Clay, from District 8 are left.

The boy from 10, I think his name is Roland, is also alive.

Then there's Thresh and Rue from 11 and Katniss and Peeta from 12.

That's a lot of Tributes left. I'm really surprised we haven't run into any of them yet. It's kind of a shock that no one's died within the two days since the bloodbath.

In that day, though, North, Clay, and I move camp. We abandon our cave, deciding to look for water to refill our canteens after we left the river to escape the Careers.

North is still as adorable as ever. His smile can melt even the coldest of hearts. If he lives past these Games, that kid is going to become a heartbreaker. Clay has saved me more than once. He's kept me from going insane in the arena and kept me from walking into dangerous traps.

I keep asking him why he's saving me. He just replies with a simple answer. "My debt to you isn't repaid yet."

I have to wonder when it will be repaid.

* * *

**First off, I related Cato and Finnick to each other, as well as many of the other Victors, to each other because honestly, I find that most Victors go through the same thing. They're haunted by nightmares, plagued by the ghosts of those they couldn't save. I wanted to play up the fact that despite everything, each of them are united against the Games. Even Gloss, who is portrayed as a ruthless killer in _Catching Fire_. I wanted to play up that each of them probably have lost someone they care for in the Games.**

**No matter what, I believe that it's so easy to fall in love. It takes a look, like it did for Cato and Leilani. Truthfully, it only takes a second of conversation to truly fall in love, or at least become attracted to someone. So for me, I don't think it'd be implausible for the Victors to have someone they cared about lose the Games. I'm going off of what I believe. If I was to lose someone who I came to care about, I'd try my hardest to win, and to get revenge for the person I cared about. Honestly, it's not too implausible for each of the Victors to have come to love someone who died.**

**If you want me to elaborate on each of these stories, I can write them all out. However, most of them will be Original Characters and pre-existing Victors, much like this story. They'd be pretty short, to be honest. I'd love to hear what you think. ****Also, I'm unsure of whether or not this story will have a sequel, as I have several different endings in mind that I can upload.**

**Another thing is that I'm on a superhero craze. I'll be continuing this story, but I will most likely start another story as well, and attempt to balance them all out. I'm usure of which superhero movie I'll be writing for. Most likely X-Men: First Class or Nolan's Batman films.**

**Hope you enjoy, drop a review if you liked this chapter!**


	5. r u n

**run**

"Come on you moron. Just get in. Swimming can't be that hard for you, can it?" I ask sarcastically to Clay. Both North and I, stripped down to our underclothes, are in the water, washing up from the past few days' events. Clay, however, is sitting on the side of the lake, blatantly refusing to set foot in the water.

He glares a little more at me. "No way in hell. I'm not getting in, even if you paid me," he replies stubbornly.

I send him a sarcastic look. "What if I set the Careers on you?" I grind out, my voice still sarcastic. For a moment, Clay's eyes flashed in fear.

"Aw, damn. You got me," he concedes with a smile. "I'm not going any deeper than waist though. I'm an awful swimmer." His grin is wide and relaxed, as if we're not Tributes in the Hunger Games, but teens hanging out at a lake or something. Looking behind me, Clay calls, "Hey, c'mon North, don't go too far out!"

North waves him off as he continues to splash around, clearly enjoying himself in the cold water. I laugh, shaking my head at the young boy's antics. "He _is_ from District 4, Clay."

The brunette boy rolls his eyes before taking off his jacket and shirt. "He's not just from District 4… I swear, that kid is a damn fish," he grumbles as he takes his shoes off as well. He keeps a strong grip on his long knife though.

"Paranoid," I joke.

His expression is still his happy-go-lucky signature smile as he deadpans, "You never know when Cato's going to show up." I roll my eyes; we're safe from Cato. Then again, I can't tell Clay this. It's still a secret from the rest of the Tributes, after all.

Honestly, it's better that way. Cato is my weakness, like I am his. I know that if Cato died, I'd probably go insane. He knows practically every worry I have in the Games. While I can't say the same thing, I do know that Cato cares. There are Tributes, like the Careers, that would use us against each other.

I look down a little. "Cato and the Careers? Please, they're harmless," I scoff. Clay looks at me like I'm insane. "Trust me, Clay. They won't touch us." I flash a small smile at my partner.

He nods slowly, a skeptical, sarcastic smile on his face. "What're you hiding?" he asks. I freeze and look at him questioningly. He just gives me a stare like I'm _that_ stupid. Which, honestly, I'm probably even stupider than _that_ stupid. "There's no way you can know that the Careers won't come after us."

I shrug. "Well, it's day four of the Games, Clay. They're probably restless. They want Katniss, especially since she got that 11 in Training." Clay rolls his eyes. He clearly doesn't believe me. Either that or he thinks I'm absolutely insane. I'm pretty sure that it's both, actually.

"Right. Because you definitely know how the Careers work," he drawls, matching the sarcasm I spoke with earlier. I grin sheepishly at him and shrug again. Not like he cares enough to find out, right?

North lets out a loud laugh, and we both turn over to him. He's proudly holding up a large, struggling fish by its tail, a grin on his adorable face. "Look at it!" he exclaims. I laugh and shake my head. "I caught dinner!"

Smiling, Clay nods. "That you did North, that you did." North is clearly proud of his catch, dragging himself from the lake and placing the flailing fish on the ground.

Suddenly the smell of something burning hits my nose. I whirl around and gasp at what I see. "Fire!" I practically shriek, pushing Clay into the water. North's eyes widen, and he quickly kills the fish, using his knife, and shoves it in his bag. He dives into the water, me rushing after him.

Clay paddles along helplessly, all of us having grabbed whatever we could in those few moments. He really is a pathetic swimmer. He's practically walking as he struggles to keep his head above the water.

North reaches the shore first, pulling himself up. I'm close to the shore before I hear a few pitiful splashes, and see Clay struggling to keep breathing. I throw my bag to North, who rushes into the water to catch it. He pulls it back up as I swim back to Clay. "Go!" he gurgles through the water. "I hear the Careers, I can draw them away from you!"

I shake my head and proceed to lift his bag and weapons off of him. He splashes around as I attempt to drag him to the shore. I hear footsteps along the rocks, and I freeze, turning my head only slightly.

Five figures rush out of the woods only a few yards away from where North is. Luckily, he's hidden himself in the bushes, pulling the bags along with him. Now I only have to worry about Clay and myself. I bite my lip as Cato emerges from the forest first, followed by Glimmer, Marvel, Clove, and, surprisingly, Peeta. I shush Clay. Keeping him afloat is rather difficult, but keeping him quiet is much harder.

I suddenly look around slowly. I see brown hair and blue-gray eyes. Katniss Everdeen is on the other side of the lake. I close my eyes and pray that the Careers don't see Katniss or Clay and me. Katniss spots the Careers as well. I hear yelling from the five Careers, and I take that chance.

Their backs are turned to me, and I swim towards the rocks, pulling Clay along with me. I toss him onto the shore. "Take care of him," I say to North. The little boy nods, pulling out all of our clothing from my bag. I pull on my white tank top, Cato's jacket, and the uniform pants. "Stay here." Grabbing my two swords, just in case, I take off after the Careers in order to help Katniss.

If the Careers catch up to her, she's going to die. They're after her for her eleven in training, I can tell. Cato is too proud to let go of the fact that a girl from a lower District got a higher score than he did when he trained his whole life.

My boots thud along the rocks as I squeeze my hair out. Branches almost hit me in the face, and I almost trip several times. As I hear laughing, I stop. My eyes widen as I survey the scene. Katniss is literally up a tree, high enough so that the Careers can't get to her. Cato falls as he attempts to follow her. The rest of the Careers, except for Peeta, are cheering for him to kill her.

I breathe heavily and shakily. Both Glimmer and Cato attempt to hit her, shooting arrows at her, but they miss terribly. In a tired, but taunting tone, Katniss looks at the Careers and calls down, "Maybe you should throw the sword!" I grin a bit; She definitely knows how to hold her own against the Careers. Maybe she'll be just fine.

It's then I notice her pained face. She must've been in the fire, too. I look around in a panic; no one is around. All of the Careers have gone off somewhere. Frowning, I carefully step out, trying to be as quiet as possible.

Figuring that I'll only have a few minutes, if that much time at all, I dive back into the forest, looking for aloe, which I learned helps with burns. It's not Capitol medicine, but it'll help to take away the pain for a while.

After a few minutes, I manage to find a single plant of aloe. It's not much, but it'll do. Bending down, I uproot the plant, taking the parts of it that I can hold. It's not long after I kneel down that I feel something sharp and cold at my neck.

"You know you'd be dead if it wasn't me that found you, right?" Cato asks. I breathe a sigh of relief and look up at him. "Glimmer especially. She plans to kill you as soon as she sees you." I gently push his sword away as I stand up, the aloe still in my hands. "You'd better get out of here, and fast."

I stare at him for a moment before grinning and hugging him quickly. "Well, first off, it was you that found me. Secondly, Glimmer couldn't hit me if I was standing still and as big as a house. Third, I didn't waste my time here. I need you to keep the Careers away from Katniss for a few minutes."

He frowns. "Why the hell should I do that? We're aiming to kill her, not save her, Lei," replies the older boy.

I shrug. "Well, I know you. You'd rather the Tribute you kill put up a fight, right? Well Katniss is injured." Cato's face falls. "She was caught in the fire, just like me and Clay and North."

"Wait, you were caught in a fire? Are you okay?" he asks worriedly.

Laughing, I reply, "Cato, I'm fine. We all got out without much harm done to us, just a bit shaken up. But I think Katniss was burned pretty bad."

He bites his lip, clearly hesitant to kill an injured opponent who could give him the fight of his life. "Fine. You'd better be quick though. If Glimmer or Clove catches you, they're not going to hesitate to stick something sharp through your neck."

{ may the odds be ever in your favor }

Enobaria is not happy. In fact, she's ridiculously angry. Every single one of the other mentors knows it, too, and they al try to stay away from her at dinner. Even Brutus chooses to sit with Gloss and Cashmere over her today. Digging her knife into the rare meat, Enobaria viciously rips through the food, a dark look on her pretty face.

That stupid, arrogant Tribute of hers basically gave up two perfectly good kills for pride. She's not completely dumb, she knows that Cato's not about to murder the girl he's clearly smitten with. But as to why he's letting her heal up the biggest threat in the game, she has no clue.

She watches with anger as that stupid girl, _Leilani_, or whatever her name is, climbs the tree to the sleeping girl of District 12 slowly. She leaves the aloe on the girl's leg before fleeing. She growls a little.

"You're not too happy with your Tribute's performance, are you, my dear?" Finnick sighs, plopping himself down on the couch. Enobaria quickly takes another swipe at him. He's been running around, causing mischief for a few days now. "I'm thinking of sending that girl something good for helping my Tribute."

The dark-haired woman scowls. "Shut up and send the damn gift then," she spits, glaring at him. "It's not like you need my permission."

Laughing, Finnick shakes his head. "I'm not asking for your permission. I'm telling you that you should be grateful. That girl could do some serious damage to your darling Cato, you know. She's not because she cares about him."

Enobaria tosses her plate across the room, the ceramic shattering as it hits the wall. "He's giving her so many opportunities to kill her, and he hasn't taken a single swing at her!" she complains loudly. Everyone already knows about the forbidden love between Leilani and Cato already.

Sauntering over, more sober than anyone's seen him in years, Haymitch sits across from Finnick and Enobaria. "He's not 'swinging' at her 'cause he cares about her just as much as she cares about him. That boy's wrapped around her finger."

"And how the hell do you know she won't use that against him?!" Enobaria demands, crossing her arms.

"Love." The three look up to see the old man, a mentor of District 8, Woof. This is the first time any of the mentors have heard him speak. He's staring out the window, away from the screen. "She love him, he love her," says Woof simply.

This only serves to make Enobaria angrier. "Love," she scoffs. "I'll teach that kid a lesson." She stalks off from the room, two dozen eyes staring after her.

{ may the odds be ever in your favor }

Cato pokes at the fire with his sword once more with his sword, watching the tip turn an orange-red color. He sighs a little and leans back. Glimmer is on his left, a bit too close for comfort, while Clove is across the small clearing, tossing knives at lizards and other small animals. Marvel is simply staring at the stars. Peeta's gaze is up at the branches of the tree above them.

Katniss, however, is still stuck in the tree, unable to come down in fear of being skewered. They'd chased her into the forest, but they were all unable to follow her. Cato's back sports a large bruise now from his fall. Glimmer lost two arrows trying to hit her.

But Lei had scaled the tree without much difficulty, leaving aloe for the Girl on Fire's burns.

_Lei._

The blond Tribute sighs a little, placing his sword at his side again. He looks around; everyone else is still in the same positions as they were a few minutes ago. Except for Glimmer. Glimmer is far too close.

He stands up and grabs his sword and canteen. Turning to Clove, he says, "I'm getting water. I'll be back." The dark-haired girl just nods. Glimmer moves to go with him, but he turns and snaps, "I'm going alone."

She frowns, but stays where she is. Cato stalks through the woods, making his way back to the lake. It takes him a while, leaving him to his thoughts.

Most of his thoughts are about how he's going to get out of there with Lei safe and sound. Others are about what he's going to do when he gets home.

He'll probably move into Victor Village with his little sister and his older brother. It'll keep them from working at the stone quarry. That's why he volunteered for these stupid Games in the first place. He wants to ensure that his family won't have to go through such horrible times again.

Maybe from time to time he'll take a train down to District 8. Visit Lei and her family, see her happy and safe at her home. That's what he truly wants. His grip on his sword loosens a bit as he turns another corner.

"Your turn, Clay!" a light voice cheers. Cato gives a small grin as his eyes land on a small fire across the lake, hidden by a wall of rocks around the pit. Around the fire are three figures, two boys and a girl.

Clay is one of them, and he stands, picking up one of the knives that's resting on the ground. He quickly tosses it over another boy, who Cato realizes is from District 4. The other boy jumps out of the way as a bird comes crashing down to the ground.

The girl, Leilani, laughs a little and claps as Clay bows mockingly and the District 4 boy carefully picks up the dead bird.

It's a much happier camp than the camp that the Careers made. Cato stares longingly out at it for a minute. He shakes his head and kneels down, dipping his empty canteen into the lake. It fills up quickly and Cato stands, looking once more at the small camp of three.

He then realizes that he's actually really lucky with the camp he got. He knows that once it gets down to it, Lei won't have the heart to kill her District partner or that little boy. The rest of the Careers, however, will kill for the thrill of it.

Cato never liked killing, at least as a child. He was never a fan of ending a life. But being in the Academy snuffed that fire of resilience pretty quickly. No, the teachers of the Academy didn't just snuff that fire. They beat it out mercilessly.

It took them ten years to turn Cato into a trained killer. He is, as some would put it, the perfect soldier. After he turned sixteen, he realized that he wasn't the best. He wasn't going to be put in the games when he was eighteen, and that would ruin the chance he had for his family.

He discarded all useless qualities after that. The teen from District 2 became their killer. He forgot emotion, he forgot pain, and he forgot weakness. Cato put in extra time, training to be the best that District 2 had ever seen.

Sighing, Cato runs a hand through his hair as he walks back to the camp. He doesn't know how one girl from a weak District could turn him from a ruthless killer into a… well, a lovesick puppy.

It's at this second, in this moment, that's when Cato realizes. He realizes that he's prepared to die for her. She is his biggest weakness, something that he knows will both give him strength and take it away.

Looking at the sky, Cato frowns. No one has died in several days. It's day five, and there hasn't been a death since the Bloodbath. That needs to change, and fast, or the Gamemakers won't hesitate to take matters into their own hands.

"Cato! You're back!" Glimmer announces as he walks back into the clearing. He simply rolls his eyes and takes his spot – this time, far away from the blonde Tribute. She's getting attached; it'll be too easy to kill her when the time comes.

He doesn't voice this however, just sits down and continues to play with the fire. Clove rolls her eyes. Letting out a snicker, Marvel shoots Glimmer a look, to which she responds with a glare.

{ may the odds be ever in your favor }

As the Careers lie awake beneath her, Katniss Everdeen is still on high alert while in the tree. Her leg is still burning, just not as much. Someone had kindly left her aloe; who it was, Katniss has no idea. It couldn't have been any of the Careers, seeing how bad at climbing all of them must have been.

That leaves only a few other choices. Katniss' top choice is Rue or one of the District 8 Tributes.

Her eyes are closed as she tries to remember home. She remembers waking up to an empty bed, as Prim has decided to lie with their mother. She remembers walking past Greasy Sae's and the rest of the Seam. She remembers the smell of freshly baked bread from the Mellark family bakery. She remembers Gale's hugs and hunting together.

Then she remembers the Bloodbath. People dying everywhere, and the only thing Katniss could do was run for her life. She'd known that she could die if she ran for the Cornucopia. She hadn't listened to Haymitch and now, she regretted it.

If she'd only stayed with Peeta…

A beeping brings Katniss out of her trance. Her eyes slowly open and she looks above her to see a blinking light. It's a parachute, flying a small capsule over to her. On it is printed, in large lettering, the number "12". That parachute is meant for her.

Her eyes follow the parachute as it lands in a branch a bit over her head. With her leg still in pain, Katniss struggles to reach the parachute. Her hand captures the small silver capsule and she rips it open.

Inside is a small, silver case of something. She twists open the case and brings it up to her nose to sniff it. It's burn medicine, along with a note from Haymitch.

_Apply generously and stay alive. –H_

Katniss does so, feeling relief in her leg and hands. She sighs and places the burn medicine in her bag before leaning back once more.

"Psst."

{ may the odds be ever in your favor }

The next morning, at dawn of the fifth day of the Hunger Games, both Clay and North are still sleeping when I slip off. I want to make sure that Katniss is all right. I quietly pick up both my short swords and leave, going back towards the clearing.

I walk for a short amount of time before I hear something. Heavy, fast footsteps. Looking around frantically, my eyes wide in terror, all I see is trees. Not seeing any other way out, I quickly scale a nearby tree, breathing heavily. My heart is beating faster than it has since the Bloodbath.

Screams echo from below me, and I look down. Marvel, Clove, and Cato are running from a group of angry insects. I frown and attempt to stay hidden as they run towards the lake.

My eyes widen – Clay and North are still asleep on the bank across the lake. I let out a sharp gasp as I drop down from the tree and run towards the lake as well. Branches cut into my face arms as I move, but it doesn't bother me.

What would bother me is seeing people I love getting hurt. I bite my lip and look around carefully, trying to find another way through the trees, a faster way. When I see nothing, I have to continue on.

The lake is quiet. There's no buzzing, no splashing, and certainly no screams of pain. My first glance is to where our camp is. I suppose Clay and North woke up, as there's nothing left. It looks like everything has just disappeared. I heave a sigh of relief. That just means that they're okay. My eyes move then to where three of the four Careers are. Glimmer is nowhere to be found, I assume she's dead. Clove and Marvel are passed out, twitching ever so often in pain. As for Cato, he's sitting up, his eyelids half droopy. He looks like he'll be out like a light any second. All three of them are soaked.

"Cato?" I ask quietly, slipping from the trees. Cato's head snaps up, but he makes no other movement. In fact, he doesn't even seem to recognize me. I realize that he does when he mutters my name softly. I smile a little and kneel in front of him.

His head falls onto my shoulder as he chokes out, "My neck is burning. My arms hurt… What's wrong?" I look over to his neck and gasped. There are stingers sticking out of his neck, and knowing the Capitol, they were lethal if not treated. I pull up his sleeves as well, seeing the stingers there, too.

I panic a bit, but demand, "Cato, stay still. I have to get these stingers out of your skin." He only nodded tiredly. My fingers are shaking as I reach up to attempt to pluck the stingers from his skin. They slide out slowly, almost painfully. Each time I pull a stinger from his skin, he grunts a little in pain. It has to be really bad if he's showing any signs of pain. "How are you feeling?"

Cato doesn't reply, only stares at something behind me incredulously. I turn, but there's nothing there. "Can… can you see it?" he asks quietly. I shake my head and pull out another stinger. "It's my parents."

Frowning, I reply, "Cato, there's nothing there."

"I know I'm probably going crazy," he blubbers, for once looking more like a child than anything. "My parents have been dead for years, they can't be here." I frown again as he continues to tell me about his parents. Angelica, his mother, and Orion, his father.

Kissing Cato's forehead, I mutter, "You'd better take care of yourself, Cato. I won't be able to get to you again to help you." He just nods in response. The venom in the stingers is clearly taking a hold of him, pulling him under. I can't leave them like this. If someone was to find them, any sensible Tribute would take the chance to kill the Careers while they're vulnerable.

I grab Cato first and drag him into the forest, hiding him in a hollowed tree. I cover the opening with bushes as I run to get Clove and Marvel. Neither of them are as heavy as Cato is, thankfully. As I look at the sky, I notice that the sun is higher in the sky, signaling that it's around the middle of the day.

I have to get back to Clay and North.

Running back to them, I realize that the camp has been emptied. All I have now are my two short swords. At this point, I'm desperate to find them. There's no blood, no bodies, and no evidence that they're dead.

"Clay!" I yell, my voice cracking from worry. "North! Where are you guys?! Are you out there?!" My voice goes hoarse as I continue to yell for my allies, hoping they're somewhere near me, or I'm doomed.

I can hear footsteps rushing towards me, but I'm not about to take any chances. Quickly slinging myself into a tree, I wait.

A fluffy head of hair appears from the trees. "I heard her, Clay! I heard Lei, I heard her yelling for us!" North claims, looking around the now empty clearing.

Clay emerges after the younger boy. "She's not here, North. Look, there's nothing but… well, nothing." He places a hand on the younger boy's head, whose eyes fill up with tears. "There hasn't been a cannon yet. She's not dead."

"Hell no, I'm not dead!" I snap. Both pairs of eyes look up at me, and I smile sheepishly from up in my tree. "Sorry I worried you, I went for a walk earlier this morning… and when I came back, you were both gone."

North looks upset, but also relieved. I swear that he sounds older than he really is when he yells, "You'd better not do that to us again! I thought you were dead, and I can't lose you!" I frown a little and jump down in front of him. Tears are welling up in his eyes, and he immediately wraps his arms around my waist and hugs me. I hug him back, shushing him as I kiss his fluffy head.

{ may the odds be ever in your favor }

_"I love you, Lei."_

_"Cato, I love you, too. I want you…"_

Cato begins to stir, Lei's calming voice still echoing from his dream. His eyes flicker open suddenly as he stares at a blank ceiling. He turns his head a little to see a wall of green blocking his vision. On his other side is Clove, along with Marvel.

Sitting up, Cato pushes through the greenery to the outside world. His head is still spinning, but he remembers one thing. He remembers that Lei had taken out the tracker jacker stingers with her hands, her fingers shaking as they brushed against his skin.

He smiles a little as he looks towards where he thinks the lake is once more. He looks back to where Clove and Marvel are finally starting to wake up. He knocks on the tree, and almost immediately, Clove is on edge, searching for her knives in her pockets. Cato has to grin at the younger girl's paranoia. "Rise and shine, sleeping beauty," he taunts, a smug grin on his face.

Clove sends him a deadly glare, one that only Cato would realize was playful. "Shut your trap, Cato. I won't hesitate to sew your lips shut," she shoots back, teasing him with a glare still on her face. "Now, what the hell happened?"

Frowning a little, Cato realizes that he can't speak about Lei. "Tracker jackers. I guess it's 'cause of my size or something, but I managed to stay awake long enough to get us under here."

"What about the Girl on Fire?" Clove asks quietly. Her arms are crossed over her chest defensively. "Is she…?"

Cato grimaces and nods. "She's alive. Lover boy got to her first and got her out safely. I did manage to get a good slash in on his leg." He seems to be somewhat proud of his accomplishment, and it seems to make Clove pretty happy, too. "We still going after her?"

Looking to the side, Clove bites her lip. "Let's just get back to the Cornucopia once Mr. Comatose over there wakes up."

"That's a good idea."

The only thing is, Cato's mind isn't on the Cornucopia. It's on what happened to Lei after she escaped the lake and put them in a safe place. Cato almost frowns in worry. He hadn't been awake when she left. Had there been a cannon shot?

Clove looks up to him as he stands and walks out. She follows him and stands next to him with her arms still crossed. "What? You think someone died while we were out?" she asked sarcastically. Cato just nods. "Why? You know someone else?"

Looking down at Clove, he replies, "Can I trust you to keep a secret and _not_ want to kill me for keeping it from you?" Clove just looks confused. "I… I've been…"

"It's that girl, Leilani, right?" she guessed, this time a little softer. Cato looked over at her incredulously. "I'm not blind and I'm not stupid, Cato. You're in love with her, aren't you?"

Stuttering, he looked anywhere but at Clove. A satisfied smirk crossed the younger girl's face. He sighed. "Maybe. I can't be in love with her though. These are the Hunger Games, damnit," he complains quietly, looking down at his shuffling feet.

The dark-haired girl looks up at her friend and moves in front of him. "You're smart, Cato. You find a way to get both of you out of here, or I swear, I'll come back and kill you myself."

Just from the look on her face, Cato knows that Clove is one hundred percent serious. He just nods weakly. Satisfied, Clove pulls away and resumes her position next to him, her arms crossing again. "Clove," he snaps, his leader-like tone kicking in once more. Her head snaps towards him. "Grab Marvel. We're going back to camp."

"Where's Glimmer?" she asks quietly.

Cato goes silent for a moment. "Dead. Tracker jacker venom just got to be too much for her."

Even his fierce District Partner is quieted by the news. All of them had been stung, and it hurt like nothing either of them have ever felt before. For someone they knew and, to an extent, cared about to die like that is a horrible feeling.

"I'm… sorry to hear that," she chokes out, not knowing what else to say.

He can feel a headache coming on. "I left her there. When the hive fell, I tried to pull her with me. But she tripped, and I panicked, and I ran. I thought she could get up and follow us, but I went back to find Lover Boy and Fire Girl. She… she looked like she'd been stung everywhere, Clove." A shudder runs up the blond Tribute's spine as the memory of Glimmer's mutilated body forces itself to the front of his mind. "It's awful. She was a pain, but she didn't deserve a death like that."

Clove nods. "No one does."

"I'm going to kill her," deadpans Cato. "I'm going to kill Fire Girl. She dropped that hive on us and she killed Glimmer. She almost killed the rest of us. I'm not going to forgive her for that."

Grinning, the smaller girl pats him on the back. "There's our Cato."

Cato only grins weakly.

{ may the odds be ever in your favor }

Of course, I have to explain everything to Clay when we find shelter. North is already sound asleep in his sleeping bag, looking curled up and warm. I smile as I ruffle his head. He just snores in response.

Clay is still fuming from my explanation behind why I was gone. "Let me get this straight," he says for the hundredth time. Clearly, he's still trying to wrap his head around it. "You and District 2 have been secretly seeing each other. That's where you're going whenever you go off alone. And he hasn't snapped your neck or sliced your head off yet?"

I jokingly reach for my face and neck. "Nope. Both are still in tact," I reply cheekily. Clay just rolls his eyes. "Come on, you can't blame me. I knew you'd react like this if I told you, so I made them quick. But this morning, Cato and the Careers were hurt by the venom of some sort of insect. I couldn't leave them there."

"Tracker jackers, probably. But Lei… you have to be more careful." I frown a little. Clay reaches for my hand. "This is the Hunger Games. Half of the Tributes from twenty-four are left. And you know the rules as well as I do."

I nod solemnly in agreement. "There can only be one Victor."

* * *

**Hey guys, sorry for late update. I had a huge paper due today, so I couldn't proofread this chapter until today. I think it turned out pretty nicely, if I do say so myself. Mostly because this is where I actually start to hint at things that are important at the end of the plot. I'll actually give you a few things to note, mostly because they're pretty subtle.**

**CATO'S PARENTS: I've read lots of stories that made Cato's parents total dickwads to their kid. I didn't want to do that. So, I made them only hallucinations for now. You'll see why later.**

**ENOBARIA: She's a mentor. Yes, she's also a total bitch. But Cato's parents are only hallucinations so far. Because they're from the same District, she's like a mother figure to Cato, who she looks at like her son. But she's... unique... so she's not very good at showing affection.**

**LEILANI'S GOOD DEEDS: Lei is doing lots of things to help people in this chapter, huh? That's because in this story, this is mostly about a group of teenagers being forced to kill each other and a few trying to stay human. Lei is one of them, and so, she tries to stay human by doing nice things to help others out of sticky situations.**

**CLAY & NORTH: Clay and North, if you've noticed, have a brotherly relationship. This is sort of a metaphor for two things. Clay stands for bravery and North stands for innocence. Not only are they trying to protect each other, but they're attempting to protect Lei, who stands for love, and Lei is trying to protect them as well.**

**MYRE & JADE VS NORTH: I'm pretty sure that this is the chapter where I compared Myre and Jade to North. This is because all three of them stand for innocence, but each a different type. Myre is an innocent, childlike love. Jade is pure and untainted innocence. North is innocence in dark times.**

**CLOVE: Clove isn't dumb. I always loved Clove, honestly. So I made it that she is highly observant and she isn't a heartless person. She does care for Cato and his feelings. She's only soft around him, you'll later see that barrier of hers go way up.**

**POCKET WATCH: I don't think I mentioned it in this chapter. But Lei's token stands for her connection to civilization, to her family, and to everything she knew before the Games.**

**All of this is pretty important, and I'll be covering it nicely, I hope.**

**Thanks to all who read this chapter, I promise that I shall try to be good with my updates. Please leave a review, every one helps!**


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